Colorado Records Lowest Number Of Unemployment Claims Since Pandemic Hit

DENVER (CBS4) - The Colorado economy received some much-needed good news on Thursday. The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment announced Thursday the lowest number of unemployment claims since the pandemic hit.

For the week ending August 29th, the state reported 5,837 regular initial claims. That is the lowest number of new regular claims since COVID-19 in mid-March.

Since mid-March, the state has reported 542,619 regular initial claims. The weekly report of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims was not released for the week of August 29th due to a data reporting issue.

The Department has paid out nearly $4.8 billion in unemployment benefits since March 29th. That number includes regular unemployment benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds. Of that, $568.4 million has gone to gig workers or those who are self-employed who have filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

The Accommodation and Food Service industry made up the highest percentage of people filing for unemployment assistance at 12.8%. The Retail Trade industry is second at 11.4%, Healthcare and Social Assistance is third at 10.8%.