New weekly unemployment claims in state decline to 5,825

DENVER — An additional 5,825 people filed for traditional unemployment benefits in the week ending April 24, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment said Thursday, a drop of 893 from the week prior.

A total of 830 people filed for the reinstated Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program during the week, marking a decrease of 480 new applicants.

A total of 201,835 continued claims were filed for some type of state or federally funded unemployment program in the week of April 17, marking a decrease of 7,397 applicants. The agency attributed that dropoff to claims that did not meet the requirements of the recently installed ID.me identity verification program meant to ward off fraudulent claims.

Nationwide, the U.S. Labor Department said 533,000 Americans filed for unemployment aid, amounting to a drop of 13,000 from the week prior’s adjusted figure and the third week in a row where new claims across the country hit their lowest level on record since the start of the pandemic.

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