Over 200,000 New Illinois Unemployment Claims In Single Week

CHICAGO — A record high number of Illinois residents filed for unemployment insurance benefits last week for the second week in a row, according to estimates from the U.S. Labor Department.

More than than 200,000 new applications for unemployment insurance benefits were filed in the state during the week that ended April 4, an increase of 22,500 initial applications compared to a week earlier.

Nationwide, the number of initial claims dipped slightly when compared to the week prior. There were more than 6.6 million initial claims last week, according to the department's estimate. Nearly 6.9 million people filed for unemployment the prior week, revised department numbers show.

Nearly half a million workers in Illinois have filed for unemployment since March 16, when Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the suspension of in-person service at bars and restaurants, according to figures from the Illinois Department of Employment Security, or IDES, and the Labor Department.

That represents 8 percent of the people who were working in Illinois a month earlier and is more than twice as many Illinoisans who were unemployed a month earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Labor Department cited layoffs in the retail, food services, hospitality and other service industry jobs for the loss of more than 64,000 jobs in Illinois during the final week of March alone.

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To handle the increase in claims in Illinois, IDES has implemented a staggered schedule to file claims online or over the phone. Benefits will be backdated to reflect the day people lost their jobs due to COVID-19, according to the state agency, which has also loosened requirements that applicants must be actively seeking work during the state-mandated shutdown.

Online: Those with last names beginning with letters from A to M were asked to file claims on Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday. People with last names starting with the letters N through Z were asked to file their claims Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Over the phone: People whose last names start with letters from A to M were asked to call Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.; those with last names started with N to Z were asked to call Mondays and Wednesdays; Fridays are available for those who could not file during the assigned window.

The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act signed into law last month allows for an additional $600 a week for people receiving state unemployment through July 25. Those payments began on Monday, according to the state unemployment agency.

The CARES economic relief bill also allows for 39 weeks of federally funded unemployment benefits to independent contractors and those that are self-employed, including so-called "gig workers," who have become unemployed as a result of COVID-19.

"This portion of the benefits expansion package has not yet been implemented," according to an announcement from IDES. The department said it has not yet posted any information on how to apply, eligibility requirements or other details of the program on its website but promised to do so when they were finalized.

Gov. Pritzker's statewide stay-at-home order limiting businesses not deemed essential to minimum basic operations or remote work is due to remain in place through April 30.

More:

• How To File For Unemployment In Illinois In Coronavirus Shutdown
• Federal Stimulus Package: How Much Illinois Residents Can Expect