DENVER — The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) estimated 5,825 initial Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims were filed the week ending April 24, and $13.7 Million in UI benefits were paid out.
CDLE also reported 830 initial Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims were filed the same week.
The decline in approved claims and benefit payments is due to the new requirement on April 10 requiring all claimants to go through the ID.me process, according to CDLE.
>Video above: Tips for avoiding unemployment benefit delays.
For the week ending April 17, CDLE reports there were 201,835 requests for continued weeks including 61,728 for UI, 57,420 for PUA, and 82,687 for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
CDLE estimates those continued claims were filed by 166,573 individuals.
Colorado unemployment benefits paid out from March 29, 2020 to April 24, 2021
- Regular UI: $2.90 billion
- PUA (gig workers/self-employed): $1.33 billion
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation ($300/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants): $3.50 billion
- PEUC (extends unemployment benefits by additional 29 weeks, ARP): $831.4 million
- State Extended Benefits (extends unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks): $32.1 million
- Lost Wages Assistance ($300/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants, fall 2020): $389.2 million
- Total: $8.99 billion
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits dropped by 13,000 last week to 553,000, the lowest level since the pandemic hit last March and another sign the economy is recovering from the coronavirus recession.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims were down from 566,000 a week earlier. They have fallen sharply over the past year but remain well above the 230,000 weekly figure typical before the pandemic struck the economy in March 2020.
The four-week moving average fell 44,000 to 611,750.
Nearly 3.7 million people were receiving traditional state unemployment benefits the week of April 17. Including a federal program designed to ease economic pain from the health crisis, 16.6 million were receiving some type of jobless aid the week of April 10.
SUGGESTED VIDEOS: Latest from 9NEWS