More Than 25,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois For Week Of August 31, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO (CBS)-- The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 25,478 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 31 in Illinois.
That's down slightly from the 26,194 claims filed the week before, but more than triple the number of claims filed during the same timeframe last year, when 7,180 new claims were filed.
Unemployment claims across the nation have skyrocketed during the pandemic. In Illinois, nearly 1.64 million new unemployment claims have been filed since early March.
The Illinois Department of Employment Security said 26,262 unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 17 in Illinois.
IDES reported 22,406 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of August 10 in Illinois.
Meantime, there were 884,000 new claims filed nationwide last week, the same number as filed the week before.
CBS 2 has extensively reported about how unemployment has surged in Illinois and neighboring states during the coronavirus 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.
