Bath and Body Works in the Willamette Town Center was closed. (Saphara Harrell/Salem Reporter)
Unemployment claims from Marion and Polk counties increased slightly last week after seeing weeks of decline.
Weekly numbers released by the Oregon Employment Department show that 2,073 people in Marion County filed initial claims for unemployment the week of April 26. That’s an uptick than the 1,992 that were filed the previous week.
Following trends in the rest of the state, unemployment claims in Marion County sharply increased after state orders clamped down much of Oregon’s economy beginning in mid- March. In Marion County, initial unemployment claims reached a peak the week of March 29 at 3,657 claims before declining.
Polk County saw a similar rise. During the week of April 26, Polk County generated 475 claims for unemployment, an increase from the 449 filed the previous week. The county saw its peak the week of March 29 when 858 people filed for unemployment.
Oregon saw a total of 19,600 initial claims for unemployment the week of April 26 and a total of more than 381,800 since business closures began in mid- March, according to a department press release.
Since the COVID-19 restrictions went into effect, the state has faced a backlog of claims. The department noted in its release that for the last four weeks more claims have been processed than received. Four out of five initial claims filed between March 15 and May 2 have also been processed, according to the department. Currently there are 62,408 unprocessed claims.
An additional 10,000 claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits have been processed, according to the department. This program was created by the federal COVID-19 relief package that extends benefits to self-employed, contract and gig workers who wouldn’t be eligible for employment benefits normally.
Contact reporter Jake Thomas at 503-575-1251 or [email protected] or @jakethomas2009.
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