37.2 million workers are either receiving unemployment benefits, have been approved and are waiting for benefits, or have applied recently and are waiting for approval, May 30, 2020
| Regular state UI: Continued claims | Regular state UI: Initial claims | PUA: Continued claims | PUA: Initial claims | Other programs: Continued claims | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative | 19,295,200 | 3,520,604 | 10,740,918 | 3,164,992 | 435,871 | 0 |
Notes: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is the new federal program for workers who are out of work because of the coronavirus but who are not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits (e.g., the self-employed). Initial claims are still in the first round of processing. Continued claims have made it through at least the first round of processing.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is the new federal program for workers who are out of work because of the coronavirus but who are not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits (e.g., the self-employed). Initial claims are still in the first round of processing. Continued claims have made it through at least the first round of processing. Regular state UI continued claims are for the week ending May 23; regular state UI initial claims are for the weeks ending May 23 and May 30. PUA continued claims are for the week ending May 16; PUA initial claims are for the weeks ending May 16, May 23, and May 30. “Other programs” continued claims are for the week ending May 16. Initial claims are in the first round of processing. Continued claims have made it through at least the first round of processing. “Other programs” includes work-sharing and others; a full description can be found in the bottom panel of the table on page 4 at this link https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf. Regular state UI claims are reported for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico. PUA claims are currently only being reported for 36 states and Puerto Rico. Continued claims for PUA , UI, and other programs are completely non-overlapping. Initial claims for PUA and UI should also be non-overlapping—that is how DOL has directed agencies to report them—but some states may be misreporting initial claims.
Source: U.S. Employment and Training Administration, Initial Claims [ICSA], retrieved from Department of Labor (DOL), https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf and https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/claims.asp, June 4, 2020.
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