2,839 New Regular Unemployment Claims Filed Last Week

Release Date: 8/6/2020

LINCOLN - The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that there were 2,839 new regular unemployment claims filed last week, a decrease of 19.8 percent over the prior week, when 3,543 claims were filed. Last week’s count was the lowest since the week ending March 14, when 796 initial claims were filed.

There were 1,150 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed last week compared to 1,570 the prior week, a decrease of 26.7 percent. The highest number of new claims filed during the pandemic was 26,539 claims during the week ending April 4. Spreadsheets showing regular and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims data are available here and will be updated every Thursday.

Continued Unemployment Claims

There were 41,913 continued weeks of regular unemployment claimed last week, a decrease over the prior week, when 45,057 claims were filed. There were 23,416 continued weeks of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claimed last week, down compared to 26,621 the prior week. 

Continued weeks refer to the individual weeks of unemployment claimed after a person applies for benefits. Weekly certifications are required in order to claim continued weeks of unemployment and receive payment. Before the coronavirus pandemic, the highest number of continued weeks was in the second week of 2010 when there were 26,075 continued weeks claimed. 

Of the top 50 occupations with the highest number of continued claims, 24 have declined by 30 percent or more since the week ending May 9.  Thirty two out of the top 50 have declined by 20 percent or more. The top continued claim occupations for the week ending August 25 (the most recent week for which occupation data is available) were waiters and waitresses (2,223), Cashiers (1,936), and customer service representatives (1,1413).

Benefit Payments and Claim Processing                                                                                                                NDOL paid a total of $45.3 million in benefits last week, including regular, PUA, $600 CARES Act payments, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which provides an additional 13 week of benefits to individuals who have exhausted their regular benefits. Regular and PUA benefits paid each week can be found here.  NDOL has paid 126,385 individuals during the pandemic.

The federal $600 Cares Act payments expired with the week ending July 25.  If the program is extended, NDOL will issue information regarding available benefits.

Benefits paid since March 29: 
Regular UI: $250,981,343.24

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance
(gig workers/self-employed): $48,065,517

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
($600/weekly UI benefits to eligible claimants): $681,485,187

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
(extends unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks): $5,014,645

Total: $986,220,879.47

Top industries with highest initial claims for week ending August 1 

#1 Accommodation and Food Services: 332

#2 Health care and Social Assistance: 270

#3 Retail Trade: 260

#4 Administrative and Support: 248  

Top three occupations filing an initial claim for week ending August 1

#1 Cashiers: 80

#2 Waiters and Waitresses: 52

#3 Customer Service Representatives: 50

Helpful Links

Unemployment by the Numbers

Layoffs, Closures and WARNs

Important Reminders for Those Claiming Benefits

NDOL News Releases