MD New Unemployment Claims Hit 613K During Coronavirus Crisis

ROCKVILLE, MD — An estimated 51,108 Marylanders filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week — a decrease of nearly 15,000 claims from the 65,805 claims filed the previous week.

That brings the total number of claims filed in Maryland since early March to more than 613,730, according to data released Thursday by the Maryland Department of Labor.

Nationwide, more than 2,438,000 people filed for first time unemployment for the week ending May 16, according to US Department of Labor data released Thursday. This represents a decrease of 249,000 from the previous week's claims.

For the week ending May 16, 38 people filed for first time unemployment via paper; 10,525 people filed via phone; and 24,455 people filed online.

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Earlier this month, the state implemented the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). Both programs were created through the CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27.

For the week ending May 16, 15,448 people filed for PUA claims. Another 915 applied for PEUC benefits. Prince George's County had the highest number of PUA claims, with 2,694. It also had the overall highest number of first-time unemployment filings last week. The total: 8,050.

At 129, Baltimore County had the most PEUC applicants in the state last week.

Marylanders can now apply for PUA, PEUC, and regular unemployment insurance benefits on the state's BEACON One-Stop application system. Click here to learn more about the application process.

Here's how many people in each county filed first-time unemployment claims last week:

Here's how many people filed over a seven-week period, statewide:

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