Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims by state: PUA initial claims filed during the weeks ending May 2–May 16
| State | Week ending May 2 | Week ending May 9 | Week ending May 16 | Three–week sum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Alaska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Arkansas | 0 | 0 | 1,498 | 1,498 |
| California | 297,738 | 136,659 | 112,791 | 547,188 |
| Colorado | 13,149 | 9,125 | 7,633 | 29,907 |
| Connecticut | 0 | 11,750 | 7,450 | 19,200 |
| Delaware | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| District of Columbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Georgia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Hawaii | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Idaho | 0 | 0 | 5,193 | 5,193 |
| Illinois | 0 | 0 | 74,515 | 74,515 |
| Indiana | 0 | 68,834 | 0 | 68,834 |
| Iowa | 4,509 | 3,910 | 4,552 | 12,971 |
| Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kentucky | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana | 20,245 | 17,556 | 3,396 | 41,197 |
| Maine | 10,498 | 11,488 | 7,043 | 29,029 |
| Maryland | 44,280 | 18,982 | 15,448 | 78,710 |
| Massachusetts | 68,826 | 70,464 | 115,952 | 255,242 |
| Michigan | 86,009 | 138,051 | 164,689 | 388,749 |
| Minnesota | 1,015 | 7,680 | 3,036 | 11,731 |
| Mississippi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Missouri | 17,784 | 7,082 | 7,787 | 32,653 |
| Montana | 3,524 | 2,163 | 2,466 | 8,153 |
| Nebraska | 1,633 | 0 | 1,700 | 3,333 |
| Nevada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Hampshire | 0 | 0 | 7,666 | 7,666 |
| New Jersey | 76,100 | 51,241 | 34,000 | 161,341 |
| New Mexico | 17,850 | 4,714 | 3,256 | 25,820 |
| New York | 38,700 | 53,042 | 177,684 | 269,426 |
| North Carolina | 89,951 | 52,351 | 42,002 | 184,304 |
| North Dakota | 5,827 | 526 | 638 | 6,991 |
| Ohio | 0 | 0 | 134,468 | 134,468 |
| Oklahoma | 2,124 | 0 | 3,016 | 5,140 |
| Oregon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pennsylvania | 43,889 | 51,591 | 60,750 | 156,230 |
| Rhode Island | 5,815 | 4,954 | 3,768 | 14,537 |
| South Carolina | 0 | 0 | 19,706 | 19,706 |
| South Dakota | 99 | 693 | 901 | 1,693 |
| Tennessee | 10,617 | 5,741 | 3,615 | 19,973 |
| Texas | 56,548 | 47,088 | 43,997 | 147,633 |
| Utah | 0 | 0 | 2,600 | 2,600 |
| Vermont | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Virginia | 0 | 0 | 13,906 | 13,906 |
| Washington | 66,652 | 48,665 | 61,471 | 176,788 |
| West Virginia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wisconsin | 18,652 | 11,194 | 8,591 | 38,437 |
| Wyoming | 572 | 1,709 | 897 | 3,178 |
| U.S. total | 1,002,606 | 837,253 | 1,158,081 | 2,997,940 |
Unless otherwise noted, the numbers in this blog post are the ones reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, which they receive from the state agencies that administer UI. While the DOL is asking states to report regular UI claims and PUA claims separately, many states appear to also be including some or all PUA claimants in their reported regular UI claims. As state agencies work to get these new programs up and running, there will likely continue to be some misreporting. Since the number of UI claims is one of the most up-to-date measures we have of labor market weakness and access to benefits, we will still be analyzing it each week as reported by DOL, but ask that you keep these caveats in mind when interpreting the data.
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, May 21, 2020