Delaware saw a dip in new unemployment claims, although the rate of jobless filings remains high.
So far, the state has paid out about $860 million, with a third or more of that amount coming from the state’s unemployment insurance program.
The program is financed by contributions from employers and employees, with the state having the ability to borrow money from the feds during periods of high unemployment.
The payout amounts to paying upwards of $900 to every resident of Delaware.
Advance unemployment claims in Delaware fell to about 1,500 from nearly 1,900 a week earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Delaware’s advance jobless claims were contained in a weekly report from the U.S. Labor Department that listed nearly one million new nationwide claims for unemployment, a decline from a week ago.
On the same day of the week, the Delaware Department of Labor issued its weekly update on jobless claims that included the following:
- 133,387 unemployment insurance claims filed from 3/15 – 8/22/2020
- 1,678 Initial claims received from 8/16 – 8/22/2020
Total benefits paid from 3/15 – 8/22/2020:
- $780,268,008 in UI benefits paid
- $564,193,485 paid from Federal Government
- $221,176,324 paid from Delaware Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund
- 11,280 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed since 5/16/2020
- 9,046 PUA claims paid since 5/16/2020
- $79,795,981 in PUA benefits paid since 5/16/2020
The PUA program ended in late July, with President Trump ordering a $300 a week substitute by executive order. The program will be administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The state is still processing a backlog of claims from the program that paid out as much as $600 a week in benefits.
While Delaware agreed to administer the program, the new system will require a separate information technology system from the PUA program.
