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New unemployment benefit applications up nationally, rise sharply (again) in Illinois

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Illinois

* ABC…

The Labor Department said Thursday that another 898,000 people filed jobless claims last week, highlighting how new layoffs are persisting at historical highs more than six months since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last week’s initial unemployment claims tally also shows a concerning spike of more than 53,000 compared to the previous week’s revised figure.

The government also said the total number of people claiming state and federal unemployment benefits topped 25.2 million for the week ending Sept. 26. In comparison, 1.4 million people claimed benefits for the same week last year.

The level of new weekly unemployment claims has stagnated near the 850,000 mark for the past few weeks, a significant drop from when they peaked at 6.9 million in the last week of March. For context, the previous record for weekly unemployment claims was 695,000 in 1982 — a record that has been shattered for 30 straight weeks in 2020.

The DOL said the states that saw the largest increases in initial claims for the week ending Oct. 3 were Florida, Illinois and Massachusetts. New Jersey, Kansas and Pennsylvania saw the largest decreases during that same time.

* The Illinois numbers are downright grim…

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 46,072 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of Oct. 8 in Illinois, according to the DOL’s weekly claims report released Thursday. […]

There were 36,267 new unemployment claims filed across the state the week of Sept. 28.

IDES reported 27,384 new unemployment claims across the state during the week of Sept. 7.

There were 25,478 new unemployment claims filed across the state the week of Aug. 31.

That’s an 81 percent increase since the week of Aug. 31.

* Related…

* IDES fraud targets government workers, garnishments possible

* Some Illinois PUA unemployment recipients told to pay back thousands of dollars to IDES in alleged over-payment

* Funeral Home Owner Says Hard Credit Check Followed Fraudulent Illinois Unemployment Claim

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Oct 15, 20 @ 11:43 am

Comments

Seasonal layoffs for trades and farms might be the culprit in Illinois

Comment by Tanks Thursday, Oct 15, 20 @ 12:28 pm
Things are going to get worse before they get better. The steady drip of corporate bankruptcies is a bellwether not to be ignored.

Main street is going to look very difficult for a while.

Comment by Huh? Thursday, Oct 15, 20 @ 1:02 pm
This fraud article is spot on. I am a state employee and found out from our HR department that a UI claim was filed with my name and SSN!! How did they get this? It is unbelievable to try and get this stopped. My letter from IDES came
Over a week after it was mailed. I was told my the Attorney Generals office helpline that before that fraudulent debit card gets to me, the funds will already be transferred off
Of it and deposited into an account somewhere electronically. How are they targeting State Workers? How are they getting our info?

Comment by Jeanette M Thursday, Oct 15, 20 @ 1:23 pm
Some are fraud. I was notified by my employer that somebody tried to get unemployment with my information. I talked to the Attorney General’s office. Unfortunately, there is a big operation out there. I do not know if they broke into my employers personnel Database or if it was from the Equifax breach for years ago. They do not know the nature of the breach. I was told that it is a big nationwide problem and that the FBI is investigating. I called all my financial institutions, my bank, my retirement account, my mortgage, my credit cards.

It is very scary. I was told that they would not have been able to claim under my name without having my Social Security number. I don’t know how they got it. The Attorney General’s office was very helpful.

It is happening to several State Employees and people in the private sector. My Bank was aware of this fraud before I called them but not on me but on other customers that have called.

I have not slept well since this happened. It is extremely stressful

Comment by Jason Thursday, Oct 15, 20 @ 4:02 pm