TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey’s Labor Department said Thursday that unemployment claims jumped nearly 9% last week from the previous week.
New Jersey’s job market, like the country’s, continues to feel effects from the COVID-19 outbreak with more than 28,000 people seeking jobless benefits last week, up from nearly 26,000.
Labor officials say there have been more than 1.4 million claims in the state since the virus first broke out here in March. So far, state officials say they’ve paid out a $12.4 billion in state and federal benefits over 19 weeks.
Last week also marked the end of the federal weekly $600 supplemental payment. About 840,000 people claimed the benefit last week, the department said.
The state labor figures came out the same day a federal report indicated the nation’s economy shrank by 32.9% in the last quarter.
New Jersey has among the highest unemployment rates in the country at 16.6%, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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