BOISE, Idaho — During the six week state of emergency in Idaho, laid-off Idahoans filed a total of 117,811 initial claims for unemployment, according to the Idaho Department of Labor. This is twice the total number of claims filed in the entirety of 2019.
During the week of April 25, 2019, initial unemployment claims saw a 32% decrease as only 8,827 claims were filed that week.
That same week, continued claims - valid claims filed by those who were eligible, previously received benefits or unable to work - reached a total of 71,416.
The Idaho Department of Labor has paid out around $45 million in unemployment claims to laid-off Idahoans between March 23 and April 25. Payouts the previous week reached $13.7 million, seven times the amount paid out during the same week in 2019.
The amounts paid out do not include the $600 weekly payment given to Idahoans under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program, a program under the CARES Act.
You can read more about unemployment claims in Idaho here.
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