More Than 145,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois Last Week, The Most In Nine Months
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) reported 145,054 new unemployment claims were filed across the state last week, the week of Dec. 13, the most weekly jobless claims the state has had since the end of March.
For comparison, during the same timeframe last year, 16,669 people filed claims in Illinois. That's a 770% increase.
Last week's unemployment claims in Illinois were the most reported since the week of March 30, when IDES reported 201,041 jobless claims.
Since early March, CBS 2 has tracked more than 2.4 million total claims in the state.
Illinois reported 138,359 unemployment claims during the week of Dec. 6.
There were 107,616 new unemployment claims filed in Illinois the week of Nov. 29.
Another 74,131 new unemployment claims were filed across the state the week of Nov. 22.
There were 46,800 unemployment claims filed in Illinois the week of Nov. 8.
Illinois processed 67,158 unemployment claims the week of Nov. 1.
There were 73,515 unemployment claims filed in Illinois the week of Oct. 26.
IDES has faced ongoing struggles filling claims during the pandemic. CBS 2 spoke with four IDES employees in May. 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.
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