Over 47,000 Unemployment Claims Filed In Illinois For Week Of Oct. 5, Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
CHICAGO (CBS)--The Illinois Department of Employment Security reported 47,528 new unemployment claims were filed across the state last week, the week of Oct. 5.
That's a 31% increase in jobless claims from the week before, when there were 36,267 new unemployment claims in Illinois the week of Sept. 28.
It's the largest week-to-week increase in unemployment claims in Illinois since late March. IDES reported 178,133 unemployment claims the week of March 23, a 56% increase over the week before, then there were 114,114 filings.
Overall last week, there were 898,000 new claims filed across the country.
Unemployment claims across the nation have skyrocketed during the pandemic. In Illinois, more than 1.75 million new unemployment claims have been filed since early March. Last week alone, the 47,528 new claims were a 530% increase over the same timeframe last year, when there were 7,543 new claims filed.
There were 29,390 new unemployment claims in Illinois the week of Sept. 21.
IDES reported the 25,976 claims filed in Illinois the week of Sept. 14.
Another 27,384 people filed new unemployment claims across the state during the week of Sept. 7.
There were 25,478 new unemployment claims were filed across the state the week of Aug. 31.
IDES has faced ongoing struggles filling claims during the pandemic. CBS 2 spoke with four IDES employees in May. 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.
