New Unemployment Claims In Utah Drop Slightly As National Numbers Go Up

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A total of 4,386 Utah workers filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week, according to the latest report from the Department of Workforce Services.

While the new claims numbers remain high, it’s a decrease from the previous week’s numbers when 4,758 Utahns filed new claims.

The state also reported that 26,442 residents filed continued claims for the week ending Dec. 12, which is also a decrease from the previous week’s number of 27,133.

“There continues to be national discussions regarding federally-funded unemployment benefit extensions, as the Dec. 26, 2020, expiration date for both the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and 13-week extended benefits is fast approaching,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “Regardless of the outcome of those discussions, we continue to strongly encourage those receiving unemployment benefits to actively look for work, as Utah’s economy remains resilient and offers a multitude of employment opportunities.”

Nationally, approximately 885,000 people filed new jobless claims, which is up from 862,000 the week before.

Economists had predicted unemployment claims to be at about 800,000 for last week.

Continuing claims in the U.S. fell to 5.5 million.

Kevin Burt, director of Utah’s Unemployment Insurance Division, also warned that unemployment claims need to be correctly filled out.

“We are actively pursuing any individuals that are not accurately reporting information and qualifying for unemployment benefits that they should not qualify for,” Burt said.

An overpayment occurs when someone receives unemployment payments incorrectly, Burt said.

“Please make sure that every single week that you do a continued claim that you are accurate in every single attestation that you put,” Burt went on to say. “Because if not, it will likely result in an overpayment that must be paid back.”

Burt said overpayments can happen when someone applies for unemployment when they are not able or available to work. Overpayments can also occur when an applicant doesn’t report hours worked or complete required job searches, which are randomly audited.

If an individual’s employment has been impacted by COVID-19, they should visit jobs.utah.gov/covid19 for updated information including help for employees and employers returning to work.