New jobless claims rise in Connecticut
Crossing into the new year in Connecticut, new weekly claims for jobless benefits hit their highest level since August, creating fresh urgency for Gov. Ned Lamont and the Connecticut General Assembly to find ways to prod businesses to retain workers as COVID-19 vaccinations build up.
More than 10,000 Connecticut residents put in initial claims for unemployment last week, including about 800 self-employed people who were allowed to do so under the second Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that was adopted at the end of 2020.
More than 185,000 Connecticut workers were getting unemployment assistance heading into the week of Christmas, the U.S. Department of Labor reported Thursday, a slight increase from the week before. The total number of people collecting benefts peaked at 391,000 in the second week of May and had declined since then.
As of this week, the Connecticut Department of
Labor resumed paying an extra $300 a week to claimants that Congress authorized last month under that new stimulus bill. The add-on will last for 11 weeks. President-elect Joe Biden has yet to reveal plans for any additional stimulus package, including the possibility of continuing bonus payments for people receiving jobless pay.
As part of a $900 billion package passed last month, Congress will accept another round of applications for funding under the Paycheck Protection Program, through which some 64,600
Connecticut businesses received nearly $6.9 billion in forgivable loans in exchange for not laying off workers. The newest round of PPP is open both to businesses that were unable to get one in their first go-around with local banks, as well as those that were successful but have since exhausted their funding.
In his annual “State of the State” address Wednesday, Gov. Ned Lamont gave no specifics for any fresh initiatives to support job creation and retention on
the part of Connecticut businesses. The state is wrapping up a $35 million program of grants up to $30,000 for 2,000 distressed small businesses in targeted industries; and previously gave $50 million in grants to small businesses.
Last week totaled 9,342 new claims for state unemployment benefits, plus 801 under the federal act for sole proprietors of businesses, for a total of 10,143. The number of new claims fell as low as 4,395 at the lowest week in the fall.
As of mid-December, hospitality industry workers, including hotel and restaurant employees, accounted for 16 percent of people receiving unemployment in Connecticut, according to the state Department of Labor’s most recent data released this week. Retail and health care were the only other sectors to register double-digit percentages among Connecticut residents seeking work.