CDLE: Over 100,000 Initial Unemployment Claims Filed April 5-11*

(DENVER) — Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced there were 104,217 initial unemployment claims filed the week ending April 11. This is 55,000+ more than the week prior (week ending April 4). Over the past four weeks 231,610 initial claims have been filed. The initial claims numbers are those weekly claims that are reported to the U.S. Department of Labor every week for the week prior and do not reflect all applications filed for unemployment.*

Claims by industry and benefits paid-Top 5 industries with highest claims:**

Accommodation and Food Services: 21,124

Healthcare and Social Service: 9,717

Retail Trade: 7,400

Other Services:*** 5,914

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: 4,080

Online payment requests made since March 16: 150,000+

Benefits paid for week ending April 11: $62.0 Million

Benefits paid for week ending April 4: $29.8 Million

Average 2020 weekly benefits paid for weeks prior: $8.7 Million

Recession comparison of benefits paid:

During the height of the Great Recession (2009-10), $19 million in benefits were paid out on an average weekly basis. $102.8 million in benefits were paid out in May 2009, the highest monthly total on record.

* Initial claims are those claims filed to establish benefit eligibility. Initial claims are considered a reliable leading indicator of economic activity. All applications filed are those applications for benefits filed with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment and may not have been through various eligibility determination e.g. wage verification, etc.

** Most recent industry-level claims data is for the week ending March 28th.

*** Other services include personal services like nail and beauty salons, barbers, etc