Iowa unemployment claims decrease for fourth consecutive week

Unemployment claims in Iowa continued to decrease the week of Aug. 2, marking the first time since the week of March 15 that fewer than 100,000 Iowans filed for unemployment in a week.

New claims were down from 6,317 to 5,282, and continuing claims were down from 104,316 to 92,853.

The previous week's numbers initially were higher, but the U.S. Department of Labor adjusted them since last week's announcement.

Manufacturing remained the largest source of claims, at 1,132, followed by self-employed and independent contractors, with 539; health care and social assistance, at 514; retail, at 421; and accommodation and food services, at 373.

That resulted in $27 million in standard unemployment benefits, $5.2 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $4 million in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which gave unemployed Iowans an extra $600 per week, expired July 25, but Iowans received $13.9 million in benefits from the program last week.

These numbers only show how many people are actively seeking work and do not necessarily give a full picture of how many people are out of work as they have dropped out of the system.

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