CDLE: Additional 7,854 first-time unemployment claims last week

DENVER — An additional 7,854 people filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending July 4, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said, a drop of 712 from the week prior.

Another 5,900 self-employed and gig workers applied for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in the week, which are federal benefits for workers traditionally not eligible for state-level unemployment. 

A total of 617,481 claimants have requested some type of unemployment benefit over the past 16 weeks.

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The number of continuing claims was at 245,100 Coloradans in the week ending June 27, continuing a pattern where that rate has bounced between the 243,000 to 265,000 range every other week.

Colorado distributed $83.6 million in regular unemployment-insurance payments in the week, a slight increase from $81.7 million the prior week.

CDLE senior economist Ryan Gedney said the state’s unemployment trust fund now stands between $325 million and $350 million, but will gain up to $120 million within the next month from businesses paying into the fund from the second quarter.

The department now expects the trust fund to hit insolvency in mid-to-late August.

Nationwide, the U.S. Department of Labor said 1.31 million Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits, a drop of 99,000 from the week prior. However, federal officials estimate 32.92 million Americans were on continued benefits as of June 20, an increase of 1.4 million from the prior week.

This is a developing story and will be updated.