Labor Dept.: N.J. unemployment benefits payout hits $12.4B

The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development said that, last week, it provided more than a half-billion dollars in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation to unemployed workers in the state.

The NJDOL said the FPUC payments drove the total amount of COVID-related benefits to $12.4 billion since the pandemic began 19 weeks ago. Also, the $600 weekly unemployment supplement (that’s been available since April) put $7.5 billion into the pockets of out-of-work New Jerseyans. The last day to collect the benefit was July 25, however, payments will continue to be made on all eligible claims for the weeks ending April 4 to July 25. Roughly 840,000 people claimed the benefit last week.

“State and federal unemployment benefits continue to be a vital wage replacement source for so many of our colleagues, friends and neighbors,” Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said. “While these benefits are providing a safety net for countless families, we are reminded everyday that some are continuing to have issues with their claims. We are throwing every resource we have at these complicated outstanding claims, and working to get everyone a determination quickly.” 

The NJDOL said it took in 28,063 new unemployment claims for the week ending on July 25, a 8.8% increase from the week before, bringing the total to 1.44 million claims since the virus hit in mid-March.

Nationally for the week ending July 25, 1.43 million people filed for unemployment for the first time, an increase of 12,000 from last week’s total, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

In the first three weeks of state Extended Benefits, the NJDOL sent out more than $11 million to 12,600 people who exhausted all their other aid.  

New Jersey’s weekly totals of new unemployment claims:     

 Week 1 (March 15-21): 155,815
Week 2 (March 22-28): 206,253
Week 3 (March 29-April 4): 214,836
Week 4 (April 5-11): 141,420
Week 5 (April 12-18): 140,139
Week 6 (April 19-25): 71,996
Week 7 (April 26-May 2): 88,326
Week 8 (May 3-9): 69,689
Week 9 (May 10-16): 42,365
Week 10 (May 17-23): 34,410
Week 11 (May 24-30): 26,752
Week 12 (May 31-June 6): 23,116
Week 13 (June 7-13): 26,392
Week 14 (June 14-20): 33,004
Week 15 (June 28-July 4): 47,391
Week 16 (July 5-11): 38,150
Week 17 (July 12-18): 25,804
Week 18: (July 19-25): 28,063
Total: 1,441,936    

Below is the weekly breakdown of payments (in millions):