Unemployment Claims in Iowa Rise After Derecho
Trees and limbs weren't the only things that were lost in the wake of August's derecho. Along with roofs and personal belongings, jobs were also a casualty following the big storm. KCRG reports that over 6,000 unemployment claims were filed between August 16th and August 22nd.
KCRG says that there were officially 6,954 unemployment claims filed. Of those, 6,201 were by people who lived and worked in Iowa. 753 were by those who work in Iowa, but live in another state. Continuing weekly unemployment claims last week totaled 84,248. That is an increase of 1,806 from the last reporting period.
Iowa Workforce Development told KCRG that workers that were affected by the derecho were included in those numbers. They say that would explain the increase in claims filed last week. Linn County alone accounted for 1,668 of those claims, compared to just 411 claims in the county the week before the storm.
According to KCRG, all of those claims filed last week added up to a total payout of unemployment benefits of $23,295,591.51. The industries with the most claims were as follows.
- Manufacturing - 1,897
- Self employed/Independent contractors - 849
- Healthcare and Social assistance - 682
- Construction - 439
- Food services - 409
Iowa Workforce Development says that there are more than 59.000 job openings in the state. Information on those openings can be found at iowaworkd.gov.