Iowa Workforce Development Communications
For Immediate Release
Date: Aug. 6, 2020
Unemployment Insurance Customer Service: 1-866-239-0843 - uiclaimshelp@iwd.iowa.gov
Media Contact: communications@iwd.iowa.gov
Iowa Workforce Development reports initial unemployment insurance claims filed for week of July 26 - August 1, 2020
DES MOINES - The number of initial claims in Iowa, filed between Sunday, July 26, and Saturday, Aug. 1, was 6,765. There were 6,129 initial claims by individuals who work and live in Iowa, and 636 claims by individuals who work in Iowa and live in another state. The number of continuing weekly unemployment claims for July 26 - Aug. 1 was 104,970, a decrease of 5,072 from the previous week.
The U.S. Department of Labor adjusted last week’s initial claim number down to 6,970 (a decrease of 471) and continuing claims to 110,042 (a decrease of 918 for a total decrease of 1,389). Iowa Workforce Development relies upon the weekly data released by the U.S. Department of Labor to report its numbers and as such, adopts the revisions to the previously published data.
Unemployment insurance benefit payments totaled $29,938,690.42 for the week of July 26 - Aug. 1. The following industries had the most claims:
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Manufacturing (1,429)
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Industry Not Available - Self-employed, Independent Contractors, etc. (981)
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Health Care & Social Assistance (648)
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Retail (458)
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Education Services (407)
A total of $78,571,800 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefits was paid during the week of July 26 - Aug. 1, 2020. Since April 4, 2020, a total of $1,559,073,343 in FPUC benefits has been paid.
A total of $4,772,777 was paid in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits during the week of July 26 - Aug. 1, 2020.
A total of $3,733,221.35 in benefits has been paid in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits for the week of July 26 - Aug. 1, 2020. Since May 27, 2020, a total of $39,420,464.46 in PEUC benefits have been paid.
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefits ended July 25th in Iowa which means the $600 weekly additional benefit stopped. Claimants will therefore see a corresponding decrease in their weekly benefit amount. Individuals who have exhausted the additional 13 weeks of PEUC benefits may be eligible for State Extended Benefits (EB) announced in June. Claimants should continue to file weekly claims so that their claims can be reviewed to determine eligibility for State EB. These benefits may provide eligible claimants up to an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits. Not everyone who qualified for PEUC will be eligible for State EB. More information is available here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/state-extended-benefits
Employers are now required to notify their employees about Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits in accordance with Iowa Administrative Code Section 871-22.19. The requirement ensures that workers are aware of the benefits they may be eligible for if they become unemployed or experience a reduction in hours.
Employees and employers who have questions regarding returning to work should review the Frequently Asked Questions for each group on our website. Assistance for employers can be found here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/sites/search.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/files/content-files/FAQs%20Employers%2008.05.20.pdf
Employees can find assistance here: https://www.iowaworkforcedevelopment.gov/sites/search.iowaworkforcedevel...
For more information on the total data for this week’s unemployment claims, please visit https://www.iowalmi.gov/unemployment-insurance-statistics
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