New Colorado weekly claims increase to 6,031

An additional 6,031 people filed for traditional unemployment benefits in the week ending Oct. 17, the Colorado Depar tment of Labor and Employment said Thursday, a drop of 507 from the week prior.

A total of 2,973 people in Colorado applied for state-level Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in that week, which is assistance for gig workers, the self-employed and others who wouldn’t normally qualify for regular benefits. That amounts to an increase of 441 from the week before.

That specific assistance at the federal level, along with a $600 per week additional benefit for all claims, expired in August, with both chambers of Congress and the White House unable to pass a new round of stimulus packages before the election next week.

Gov. Jared Polis cited that inaction in an executive order Wednesday, ordering a one-time payment of $375 to about 435,000 state residents who filed for unemployment between March and October of this year and make less than $52,000 per year. Those funds are expected to be distributed in December.

The order is projected to provide $168 million to recipients, most of which will be reimbursed by transferring Medicaid-related fees paid by hospitals into a Labor Department disaster fund.

“We can’t afford to wait around for Congress to step up while countless hardworking people are struggling to make ends meet,” Colorado Senate president Leroy Garcia said in a prepared statement.

The total number of continuing claims made in the state was at 221,036 for the week of Oct. 17, which include all state and federal assistance programs.

The amount of regular benefits paid out by the depar tment declined by $1.7 million from the prior week to $39.8 million.

Nationwide, the U.S. Labor Department said 751,000 Americans filed for first-time benefits in the period, amounting to a decrease of 36,000 from the week prior.