IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa residents filed more than 40,000 claims for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus outbreak forced many workers to lose jobs and stay home.
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The Department of Labor reported Thursday that nationwide, claims for jobless benefits surged to a record 3.3 million in the week that ended March 21.
The numbers show that in Iowa, initial claims zoomed past 40,000. That was up from 2,229 reported in the state the week before.
Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend said earlier this week that the state was receiving a staggering number of claims.
In contract, Minnesota says it lost 4,900 private sector jobs and gained 400 government sector jobs in February but those numbers were prior to significant impacts from COVID-19, according to seasonally adjusted figures released today by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). Minnesota’s unemployment rate dipped down one tenth of a percentage point in February to 3.1% .
“It’s important to note that February employment numbers don’t reflect the significant impact on Minnesota employment we’ve seen in the past 10 days due to COVID-19,” said DEED Commissioner Steve Grove.
