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Over 58,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois For Week Of May 18, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

 

CHICAGO (CBS)-- The U.S. Department of Labor estimates 58,359 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 18 in Illinois, according to the DOL's weekly claims report released Thursday.

While this number is based on advanced estimates, the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) will be releasing a final number later Thursday.

This a decrease from the 72,780 new claims filed the week prior. And the lowest we've seen since week three, when there were more than 100,000 new claims filed.

There were 2,123,000 new claims filed across the country last week.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimated 72,816 new unemployment claims were filed during the week of May 11 in Illinois.

There were 72,671 new claims filed for the week of May 4.

During the week of April 13, in Illinois, 102,736 new unemployment claims were filed.

During the week of April 20, the U.S. Department of Labor estimates 81,245 new unemployment claims were filed in Illinois.

During the week of April 20, there were 3,169,000 new claims filed across the U.S.

CBS 2 spoke with four IDES employees. For the first time, these workers offered a glimpse into the challenges IDES employees face daily working to get thousands of new unemployment claims processed, as well as the factors they believe contribute to why so many people have not received their benefits.

CBS 2 has extensively reported about how unemployment has surged in Illinois and neighboring states during the coronavirus pandemic.

 

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