Utah Holding Virtual Job Fair As 4,473 Workers File New Jobless Claims

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Department of Workforce Services reported that 4,473 Utahns filed new unemployment benefits for the week ending Sept. 19

There were also 47,839 continued claims filed during the same period.

The recent numbers are a slight increase from the week before. According to DWS, 2,552 workers filed for traditional benefits, up from 2,298; 734 filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, up from from 709; and 1,191 filed for extended benefits, up from 1,186.

However, the continued claims dropped by 2,186 from the week before.

Continued benefits are defined as those unemployed workers who have filed unemployment claims for at least two consecutive weeks.

“It is promising to see the number of continued claims for unemployment benefits decrease every week, unfortunately it also appears that new claims have begun to plateau, showing ongoing disruptions to employment,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Services. “While employment disruptions have continued during this pandemic, Utah’s economy has shown itself to be resilient as evidenced by the latest Utah unemployment rate of 4.1%.”

The state is hosting a virtual job fair Wednesday from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. The fair is open to all job seekers, and priority service will be given to veterans, military members and their spouses.

To join the job fair, go to jobs.utah.gov and create an account and sign in to “My Job Search.” Go to the virtual job fair on the calendar and select the event.

Nationally, the number of new jobless claims also rose slightly. Approximately 870,000 Americans filed for new unemployment benefits last week, though the number of continued benefits declined to 12.6 million.

Unemployment is currently at 8.4% across the country.