Jobless claims up again in Illinois, 200K another new record

Unemployment claims in Illinois jumped nearly 13% last week, with 200,940 new claims largely attributable to the spread of the coronavirus.

The jump in Illinois, breaking a record set just a week earlier at 178,421, comes as new claims nationally dipped slightly, according to the Labor Department.New U.S. claims totaled 6.6 million, which ultimately was a dip of 3.8% from the previous week, the Labor Department said. Officials adjusted the previous week’s total up 219,000, to 6.87 million, in what had been a hot economy just a month ago.

The spread of coronavirus is the main culprit. In Illinois, Gov. J.B. Pritzker shut down “non-essential” businesses, starting with bars and restaurants, on March 21, putting tens of thousands of people out of work.

In Illinois, new-claims totals the last two weeks smashed the previous record. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the most new claims filed in a single week was 25,800 in the week ending Jan. 9, 1982.

The Labor Department also reported that 7.46 million people were receiving unemployment benefits during the week ending on March 28, a 161% increase from the previous week and a new record. The previous high was 6.64 million in May 2009 during the Great Recession.

(Image Credit: AP)