Utah Sees Spike In New Unemployment Claims

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – According to Thursday’s report from the Utah Department of Workforce Services, a total of 4,758 workers filed new jobless claims for the week ending Dec. 5.

That’s a sharp increase in new claims from the previous week, when 3,519 Utahns filed for new benefits.

Authorities said the spike could be due in part to seasonal claims. There was also a decrease in new claims because of the Thanksgiving holiday.

There were 27,133 continued claims filed for the week of Nov. 29 – Dec. 5, which is down just slightly the week before when 27,213 filed for continued benefits.

The rise in Utah numbers mirrored the national statistics, as 853,000 Americans applied for unemployment – up from 716,000 the prior week.

“We saw the volume of new claims go up dramatically this past week, some of it can certainly be attributed to the expected seasonal claim increases as well as a relatively low claim volume during the Thanksgiving week,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “However, it is clear that the pandemic continues to be disruptive to employment and many are still in need of the unemployment benefit.”