Unemployment claims increase 143% in Idaho

Idaho workers laid off because of the coronavirus pandemic filed 32,941 new unemployment claims last week, according to the Idaho Department of Labor.

Jobless claims for the week of March 21-28 represented a 143% increase over claims filed a week prior and were a record amount for the state, according to a news release.

Employees in accommodations and food services, health care and social assistance, and retail trade represented 55% of the total.

The mining industry posted the largest percentage increase – 767% – in new claims filed over the previous week. Manufacturing and construction industries posted increases of 306% and 256%, respectively.