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DENVER (KDVR) — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced Thursday that 104,217 initial unemployment claims were filed last week, which is over 55,000 more than the previous week.

Over the past month 231,610 initial claims have been filed.

Top five industries with highest unemployment claims for the week of March 23 include:

  • Accommodation and Food Services: 21,124
  • Healthcare and Social Service: 9,717
  • Retail Trade: 7,400
  • Other Services – include personal services like nail, beauty salons, barbers, etc: 5,914
  • Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: 4,080

Unemployment benefits paid:

  • Online payment requests made since March 16: over 150,000
  • Benefits paid week of April 6: $62.0 Million
  • Benefits paid week of March 30: $29.8 Million
  • Average 2020 weekly benefits paid for weeks prior: $8.7 Million

Recession comparison of benefits paid:

  • During the height of the Great Recession (2009-10), $19 million in benefits were paid out on an average weekly basis.
  • $102.8 million in benefits were paid out in May 2009, the highest monthly total on record.

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) enhances and extends benefits through these programs:

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits for a new set of workers:

  • Gig workers
  • Individuals who are self-employed
  • Contract employees
  • Workers who cannot work from home while obeying a shelter order
  • Workers who have exhausted regular unemployment insurance benefits
  • Workers who were directly impacted by COVID-19, such as needing to care for a child whose school is closed or a dependent who tested positive for COVID-19
  • This benefit is retroactive to January 27, 2020

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program (FPUC):

  • Provides $600 per week to any individual eligible for any of the Unemployment Compensation programs
  • This benefit began March 29, 2020

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC):

  • Provides for an additional 13 weeks of benefits beyond the standard maximum of 26 weeks for traditional (regular) unemployment benefits

All eligible workers will receive these benefits backdated and will not lose out on any benefit amount to which they were entitled.

Workers who believe they may be eligible for these benefits can begin gathering income statements and other documentation that might be required to file, but the department is asking them to wait to file until the systems are ready to begin accepting claims. 

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