The latest Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development report on unemployment in shows an increase in new Unemployment Insurance [UI] claims with a slight decrease of continued claims.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance [PUA] program, which extends benefits to workers not eligible for UI, showed a sharp decrease in new claims.
The latest report represents activity between May 31 and June 6, 2020.
Unemployment Insurance [UI]
In the standard UI program, 44,660 individuals filed new claims during the week. That is 17,626 more than the previous week, representing a 65% increase and a sign of more new job losses.
The UI program saw 565,898 individuals file continued claims, 9,964 (1.7%) fewer than the previous week.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance [PUA]
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance [PUA] program extends benefits to workers who have lost their job but not traditionally eligible for UI. This includes gig workers and independent contractors.
Another 20,991 individuals filed additional PUA claims during the week ending June 6. That is 33,390 (61%) fewer initial claims than the previous week.
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program provides 13 weeks of additional benefits to individuals who had previously exhausted their unemployment benefit since July 2019.
During the week ending June 6, 3,692 PEUC claims were filed. 46,945 individuals have filed PEUC claims since Massachusetts implemented the program on May 21.
How Massachusetts Compares
A study by the financial experts at WalletHub.com ranks each state and Washington D.C. by most hit by unemployment claims because of COVID-19.
In the most recent week, Massachusetts ranked 12 most hit in the nation,. This is much higher than the state’s ranking since the beginning of the pandemic. Massachusetts ranks at 29th most hit.
New Jersey was the least affected state in the most recent week while Oregon has been least affected since the start of the pandemic.
Oklahoma was the most affected state in the most recent week while Georgia has been most affected since the start of the pandemic.
WalletHub.com only analyzes the traditional UI program. Their analysis does not include the PUA or PEUC programs.
SEE BELOW: How Massachusetts compares to other states in unemployment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Image Credit: Hsin Ju HSU, Massachusetts Statehouse, CC BY-SA 3.0
