Additional 31,000 Coloradans filed for unemployment in prior week

DENVER — An additional 31,608 people filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending May 9, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said, representing a drop of about 10,000 new filings from the week prior.

The state saw 22,483 regular initial claims and 9,125 claims from self-employed and contract workers between May 3 and May 9, according to weekly figures released Thursday morning. That places the number of claims in the past eight weeks at 451,155. 

State labor officials last estimated Colorado’s labor force to be around 3.14 million in March. When compared to the past several weeks, the figures suggest approximately 13% of state residents have claimed some form of unemployment benefits.

CDLE also reported paying out $96 million in benefits in the period, coming close to hitting the six-figure mark on disbursements to out-of-work residents. Labor officials have paid out $432.8 million in benefits since the start of April, which accounts for a little over 40% of the $1.1 billion it had in the state unemployment trust fund at the start of the year.

The U.S. Department of Labor said initial claims across the country last week hit 2.98 million, a decrease of 195,000 new filings from the week prior. More than 36 million Americans have filed for unemployment since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, with the insured unemployment rate now standing at 15.7% nationwide.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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