Another 72,103 Arizonans filed for initial unemployment claims through the Arizona Department of Economic Security for the week of April 12 to April 18.
This, on top of the 507,213 claims that have been filed since the shut down began the week of March 15, brings total claims filed to 579,316, or 11.6% of Arizona’s work force.
While the number is staggering, it is a little more than half of what has so far been the peak of unemployment filings that occurred on the week ending April 4 when 132,382 Arizonans filed.
Although the official unemployment rate is calculated using a monthly nationwide survey conducted by the Federal Government, the numbers show that if little to none of those that have filed for unemployment have since found employment during the economic shutdown.
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Arizona’s unemployment rate would be an estimated 16%. Almost four times what it was in February of this year.
The government paid out $150,870,120 on 226,793 continued unemployment claims.
This is more than double what the state has paid in benefits in every week since the start of 2020 combined.
