DES MOINES, IOWA (April 9, 2020) — The number of initial claims in Iowa reported by the US Department of Labor, filed between Sunday, March 29, and Saturday, April 4, was 67,334. There were 64,187 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 3,147 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state.
The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims is 92,962.
A total of $27,565,232.79 of unemployment insurance benefits were paid to claimants for the same week.
The following industries had the most claims:
- Health-Care and Social Assistance (9,632)
- Manufacturing (9,218)
- Retail Trade (8,088)
- Accommodation and Food Services (7,123)
- Construction (2,696)
Iowans can visit www.IowaWorkorceDevelopment.gov to file their initial and weekly unemployment insurance claim. Iowa Workforce Development anticipates that CARES Act benefits will be paid next week, including the additional $600 weekly benefit amount as well as unemployment claims for the self-employed. The $600 weekly benefits will be retroactive for claims effective March 29. Claims for the self-employed can be retroactive to February 2, 2020, if there was a reduction in income or loss of employment related to the pandemic. We will post updates to our website when we begin paying these benefits.
Employers or claimants with questions can e-mail Iowa Workforce Development at uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov. We have been successful in answering most e-mails within 24 hours. Individuals may also call us at 1-866-239-0843. We are receiving many calls and wait-times may be lengthy. Our website contains videos, webinars, FAQs, and other forms of assistance for all of the different types of claims and programs such as the most updated information on the CARES Act benefits and payments.
For more information on the total data for this week’s unemployment claims, please visit https://www.iowalmi.gov/unemployment-insurance-statistics.
