Massachusetts Sees Drop In Claims For Unemployment, Pandemic Assistance
BOSTON (CBS) -- Fewer people filed for both traditional unemployment benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in Massachusetts last week, according to the latest federal numbers. Nationwide, another 1.51 million people filed for unemployment benefits as America tries to reopen businesses amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Massachusetts saw just over 30,000 new unemployment claims filed, down nearly 15,000 from the previous week.
About 16,000 filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, down over 5,000 from the week before. That program provides benefits for those not covered by traditional unemployment insurance, such as the self-employed, independent contractors and "gig economy" workers.
There was a slight drop in unemployment claims nationwide but some analysts are concerned about the high level of joblessness, according to CBS News.
"As we distance ourselves further from the historically high initial claims seen this spring, the tens of millions that remain unemployed are an increasingly important signal of labor market weakness," Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, said in a note. "The flattening of continuing claims indicates that there isn't enough hiring to overcome these continuing layoffs."
Learn more about applying for unemployment in Massachusetts here.
