DOL reports that 33.8 million workers are either on unemployment benefits or have applied and are waiting to see if they will get benefits: July 25, 2020
| Regular state UI: Continued claims | Regular state UI: Initial claims | PUA: Continued claims | PUA: Initial claims | Other programs (mostly PEUC and STC) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative | 16,881463 | 1,205,871 | 12,413,322 | 1,765,770 | 1,568,239 | 0 |
Notes: This is an upper bound on the number of people "on" UI, for two reasons: (1) regular state UI and PUA claims should be nonoverlapping—that is how DOL has directed agencies to report them—but some individuals may be erroneously counted as being in both programs; (2) some states are likely including some back weeks in their continuing PUA claims, which would also lead to double counting.
Notes:
This is an upper bound on the number of people "on" UI, for two reasons: (1) regular state UI and PUA claims should be nonoverlapping—that is how DOL has directed agencies to report them—but some individuals may be erroneously counted as being in both programs; (2) some states are likely including some back weeks in their continuing PUA claims, which would also lead to double counting. Non-seasonally adjusted data are used throughout. Regular state UI continued claims are for the week ending July 18; regular state UI initial claims are for the week ending July 25. PUA continued claims are for the week ending July 11; PUA initial claims are for the weeks ending July 18 and July 25. "Other programs" are continued claims in other programs for the week ending July 11. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is the federal program for workers who are out of work because of the virus but who are not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits (e.g. the self-employed). "Other programs" includes PEUC, STC, and others; a full list can be found in the bottom panel of the table on page 4 at this link https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf.
Source: Department of Labor (DOL) Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims (News Release), retrieved from DOL, https://www.dol.gov/ui/data.pdf, July 30, 2020.