New unemployment claims in Iowa jump to highest level since January

Continuing claims remain steady, increasing portion of new claims tied to coronavirus

Apr. 22, 2021 10:09 am, Updated: Apr. 22, 2021 12:30 pm

A man wearing a mask walks under a 'Now Hiring' sign at a CVS Pharmacy in May. (Associated Press)

New unemployment claims in Iowa increased in the week ending April 17 to its highest level in more than three months, according to numbers released by Iowa Workforce Development Thursday.

New claims rose from 5,005 to 7,255, marking the first time the state had more than 7,000 new claims since the week ending Jan. 9.

New claim numbers have alternated between increasing and decreasing for the last four weeks.

Continuing claims, meanwhile, were nearly identical to the previous week, sliding from 33,500 to 33,546.

About 58.5 percent of new claims were related to the pandemic, according to Iowa Workforce Development. It was the second consecutive week with the majority of new claims being tied to the coronavirus.

Self-employed and independent contractors were the largest source of claims with 1,578, followed by manufacturing with 1,533, retail trade with 529, accommodation and food services with 477, and health care and social assistance with 471.

IWD issued $19.4 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, $10.2 million in standard unemployment benefits, $8.3 million in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and $4.1 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

⧉ Related article: Iowa’s March unemployment rate remains at 3.7 percent

These numbers are preliminary and are yet to be adjusted by the U.S. Department of Labor.

They also only include people actively seeking work and therefore do not necessarily include all Iowans who are out of work.