Over 22,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois For Week Of August 3, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO (CBS)-- The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 22,387 new claims in Illinois new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 3 in Illinois, according to the DOL's weekly claims report released Thursday.
While this number is based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.
There were 963,000 new unemployment claims filed last week nationwide. There were less than 1 million new jobless claims in a single week for the first time since March.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 24,712 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 27 in Illinois.
The U.S. Department of Labor estimated 32,465 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 20 in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 36,435 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 13 in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security said 38,261 unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 6 in Illinois.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 44,694 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of June 8 in Illinois. There were 1,508,000 new claims filed across the country during the week of June 8.
CBS 2 spoke with four IDES employees. For the first time, these workers offered a glimpse into the challenges IDES employees face daily working to get thousands of new unemployment claims processed, as well as the factors they believe contribute to why so many people have not received their benefits.
CBS 2 has extensively reported about how unemployment has surged in Illinois and neighboring states during the coronavirus pandemic.