Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — A record number of Utahns applied for jobless benefits last week as employers laid off thousands of workers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services Thursday reported nearly 20,000 people filed claims for the week of March 15 through 21 — almost four times as many as have ever done so in any one week in history.
The department received 19,591 claims for the week ending March 21, a 1,391% spike over the previous week’s total of 1,314 claims. It’s also 2,114% higher than the 885 claims made in the same period last year. Nationally, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that 3.3 million new claims for unemployment benefits came in the week ending March 21.
In Utah, the previous high for claims was from Sept. 29, 2013, to Oct. 5, 2013, when 5,421 claims were made during the federal government shutdown, explained Kevin Burt, director of the state’s Department of Workforce Services Unemployment Insurance Division. The second-highest week was that ending Jan. 10, 2009, during the Great Recession when 5,205 claims were filed, he added.
“Clearly, the volume of claims has increased significantly, and also quickly,” Burt said. “The Unemployment Insurance Division staff are working diligently to try to meet this high demand, understanding the significance of this benefit to those that are applying.”
According to a news release, the three industries that had the highest percentage of claims for the week, as identified by the claimant at the time of their filing, were food preparation and serving at 37%, office and administrative support at 9.3%, and management at 8.6%.
Statewide, the five counties with the highest number of individuals filing new unemployment insurance claims were Salt Lake County at 47%, Utah County at 12.4%, Davis County at 7.1%, and Washington and Weber counties both registering at 6.2%, the release stated.
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