COLORADO, USA — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) says initial unemployment claims have declined for the seventh straight week.
CDLE said there were 12,149 initial unemployment claims filed the week ending May 30, and 15,603 claims the week before.
CDLE said 6,515 initial claims were made to the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) by gig workers and self-employed workers between May 24 and May 30.
This data was presented during a news conference on Thursday morning.
In the past 11 weeks, CDLE said 433,552 initial regular unemployment claims have been filed, and 83,862 initial PUA claims have been field, for a total of 517,414.
Top 5 industries with highest claims:
- Accommodation and Food Services: 2,364
- Retail Trade: 1,637
- Healthcare and Social Service: 1,536
- Administrative and Support and
Waste Management and Remediation Services: 1,277 - Manufacturing: 922
CDLE said about $315 million and $373 million in regular unemployment benefits were paid out in April and May 2020, respectively. $102.8 million in benefits were paid out in May 2009, the previous highest monthly total CDLE has on record.
Since the beginning of March 2020, CDLE said $1.9 billion in regular unemployment benefits have been paid out. For comparison, CDPHE said about $2.1 billion in benefits were paid out in all of 2010, the height of the economic recession.
Benefits paid - Regular unemployment benefits:
- Week ending May 30: $86.2 Million
- Week ending May 23: $95.3 Million
- Week ending May 16: $88.8 Million
- Week ending May 9: $96.0 Million
- Week ending May 2: $84.8 Million
- Week ending April 25: $86.1 Million
- Week ending April 18: $74.1 Million
- Week ending April 11: $62.0 Million
- Week ending April 4: $29.8 Million
About $193.2 million in federal benefits for PUA claims were paid between April 20 and May 30, according to CDLE.
The unemployment trust fund currently has a balance between $625 million and $650 million, and CDLE said it is expected to receive between $100 million and $125 million over the next three months from contributions.
CDLE said at the current benefit payout rate of around $90 million a week, the unemployment trust fund could dip below insolvency sometime in late July or early August.
The trust is still expected to be positive on June 30, which is when CDLE said the balance determines the rate schedule employers will be on in 2021.
Labor officials said that if the fund becomes insolvent, it will not impact the payment of benefits to claimants. It would trigger insolvency interest rates beginning January 1, 2021, which range between 0.1% and 2.7%. CDPHE said most employers will be paying a rate on the lower end of the scale.
The CDLE office will reopen on June 8 for in-person services to assist claimants, and has set up a system for employers to report job refusals.
On June 1, a form will be placed on the CDLE website to allow customers to schedule an appointment.
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