The Nebraska Department of Labor announced today that there were 2,331 new regular unemployment claims filed last week, a decrease of 13.3 percent over the prior week when 2,690 claims were filed. There were 988 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims filed last week compared to 1,117 the prior week, a decrease of 11.5 percent. The highest number of new claims filed during the pandemic was 26,539 claims during the week ending April 4.
There were 24,703 continued weeks of regular unemployment claimed last week, a decrease over the prior week when 28,261 claims were filed. There were 21,553 continued weeks of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claimed last week, down compared to 23,961 the prior week.
Continued weeks refer to the individual weeks of unemployment claimed after a person applies for benefits. Weekly certifications are required in order to claim continued weeks of unemployment and receive payment. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the highest number of continued weeks was in the second week of 2010 when there were 26,075 continued weeks claimed.
Of the top 50 occupations with the highest number of continued claims, 29 have declined by 50 percent or more since the week ending May 9, corresponding with the loosening of the direct health measures. Forty-seven have declined by 30 percent or more. The top continued claim occupations for the week ending August 22 (the most recent week for which occupation data is available) were cashiers at 1,341, customer service representatives at 1,175 and, and waiters and waitresses at 1.094.
NDOL paid a total of $10.5 million in benefits last week, including regular, PUA, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which provides an additional 13 week of benefits to individuals who have exhausted their regular benefits. Regular and PUA benefits paid each week can be found here. NDOL has paid over 130,000 individuals during the pandemic.
Benefits paid since March 29:
Regular UI: $275,947,399
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
(gig workers/self-employed): $54,317,238
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
($600/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants): $690,795,628
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
(extends unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks): $7,779,288