Updated: May 28, 2020
Mass. unemployment claims surpass 900K
Photo | Grant Welker
Kiva Center, a peer-support and healing facility in Worcester, has moved its services online during the coronavirus pandemic.
By Riley Garand
Unemployment claims filed in Massachusetts since the coronavirus pandemic began have reached 902,845, according to U.S Department of Labor data released Thursday.
There were a reported 37,740 new claims made statewide at the week ending May 23, which is 944 less than the claims made during the week prior. In the week ending of May 16, there were 38,604 claims made.
The latest unemployment numbers come after the state continues to slowly reopen under Gov. Charlie Baker's issued new guidance. As of May 25, more businesses reopened: lab space, hair salons, barbershops, office space, pet grooming, car washes, retail curbside pickup and remote fulfillment. Other outdoor areas reopened as well: beaches, parks, drive-in theaters, some athletic fields and courts, outdoor gardens and zoos, as well as fishing, hunting, and boating.
After the first wave of unemployment claims were made following the coronavirus pandemic, the Massachusetts unemployment rate was 15.9% in April, the highest on record. In Greater Worcester, the unemployment rate was 14.4% in April.
Claims in Massachusetts were highest in the week ending May 23 in health and social assistance (4,733 claims), retail (3,840) and food and accommodation (3,585).
The state's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was set up in March to help those who've lost their jobs because of the outbreak, has now helped more than half a million claimants, the state labor office said Thursday.
For the week ending May 23, claims to the program totaled 147,594. Throughout the pandemic, claims have totaled 518,796. The Department of Unemployment Assistance has grown its staff from around 500 to more than 1,900 to help with claims, the state said.
Nationally, 2.1 million claims were filed last week, which is 323,000 less than the previous week. In total, the country has now surpassed 40 million unemployment claims since mid-March.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments