DES MOINES, Iowa - First time jobless claims in Iowa are down for the first time since the COVID-19 outbreak set-in.
They're down by 2,527 to a still very high 24,693. There were 27,220 jobless claims reported last Thursday, which was a jump of almost 29,000 from the previous report.
Ongoing jobless claims, which reflect the actual unemployment rate, are up by 12,387. to 181,358 from 168,971 the previous week.
Unemployment insurance benefit payments totaled $50,931,302.43, down from $51,408,623.02 the previous week.
The following industries had the most claims:
- Manufacturing (6,053)
- Industry Not Available - Self-employed, Independent Contractors, etc (4,010)
- Health Care & Social Assistance (2,988)
- Accommodation & Food Services (2,200)
- Retail Trade (1,768)
Nationally, another three million plus Americans are seeking unemployment benefits.
The Labor Department reports this morning that more than three-point-one million workers filed first-time claims for unemployment benefits last week.
That's half-a-million fewer than the previous week's total. More than 33-million U.S. workers have lost their jobs over the past seven weeks.
The biggest increases in claims were in Washington, Georgia, New York, Oregon, and Alabama.