900K file new claims for unemployment

New Illinois filings top 100K amid persistent reports of fraud across the nation

The Metro in Chicago, one of the many concert venues hard hit by the pandemic. (One Illinois/Ted Cox)

By Ted Cox

Close to 1 million newly idled workers filed for unemployment across the nation last week, down slightly from the week before but stubbornly high in the post-holiday pandemic.

The U.S. Department of Labor issued its weekly unemployment report Thursday, finding that 960,000 jobless workers filed for benefits last week, down 13.6 percent from the more than 1 million who filed the week before.

The department set the seasonally adjusted number of new claims at 900,000, down 26,000 from the week before, as the usual post-holiday hiring projected a loss of 125,000 in raw numbers, instead of the actual decline of 150,000.

Amid reports that Illinois is suffering from a nationwide fraud scheme in phony filings, the Labor Department said that Illinois saw 109,000 new claims for benefits last week, up 14,000 from 95,000 the week before. Only Californina registered more new claims last week, 124,000.

New claims filed by independent contractors, freelancers, and so-called gig workers under the renewed federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program almost doubled in Illinois, rising to 29,000 last week after 16,000 filed the week before.

According to the department, 16 million U.S. workers were on some form of unemployment insurance, down 2.4 million from the week before, but still many times the 2.3 million on unemployment a year ago, before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

In his inaugural address Wednesday, President Biden put the pandemic and the economic calamity it’s caused at the top of his agenda in taking office.