Over 25,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois Last Week Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

CHICAGO (CBS)-- The Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) reported  25,919 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 12 in Illinois, an 18% increase from the previous week when 22,004 people filed. 

"The increase in unemployment claims is due, in part, to the anticipated temporary supply chain disruptions in manufacturing that have been reported in the media.  This is also an indication of continued volatility as the labor market heals from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,," said a spokesperson for the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

While unemployment claims are up recently in Illinois, they're still well below the number of filings one year ago, during the first months of the pandemic. At the same time last year, Illinois reported 36,435 new unemployment claims,

Illinois' estimated claims last week were among 419,000 total claims filed across the country.

There were 22,004 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of July 5 in Illinois.

There were 20,464 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of June 28 in Illinois.

There were 20,460 new unemployment claims filed during the week of June 21 in Illinois.

There were 23,317 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of June 14 in Illinois.

There were 27,812 new unemployment claims filed during the week of June 7 in Illinois.

There were 29,231 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 31 in Illinois.

There were 23,516 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 24 in Illinois.

There were 19,218 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 17 in Illinois.

There were 17,530 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 10 in Illinois.

There were 18,355 new unemployment claims filed during the week of May 3 in Illinois.

There were 15,134 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 26 in Illinois.

There were 17,141 new unemployment claims filed during the week of April 19 in Illinois.

There were 15,248  new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 12 in Illinois.

here were 18,986 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of April 5 in Illinois.

There were 16,182 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of March 29 in Illinois.

There were 14,189 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of March 22 in Illinois.

There were 15,595 new unemployment claims were filed in Illinois during the week of March 15.

There were 71,175 new unemployment claims filed in Illinois during the week of March 8.

CBS 2 tracked the number of people in Illinois who filed for unemployment every week to capture the economic impact of the crisis. The analysis found more than 3.3 million people have filed for unemployment with the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) in the last year alone.

There were 57,483 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of March 1 in Illinois. 

There were 68,383 new unemployment claims filed during the week of Feb. 15 in Illinois.

IDES reported 62,369 people filed unemployment claims during the week of Feb. 8 in Illinois.

There were 40,008 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of Feb. 1 in Illinois.

There were 95,481 new unemployment claims filed during the week of Jan. 18 in Illinois.

There were 95,472 new unemployment claims filed during the week of Jan. 11 in Illinois.

There were 94,944 new unemployment claims filed during the week of Jan. 4 in Illinois.

There were 45,387 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of Dec. 27 in Illinois.

There were 110,486 claims filed in Illinois the week of Dec. 20.

There were 145,054 new unemployment claims filed across the state, the week of Dec. 13.

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.

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.