NEWS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 9, 2020 CONTACTS Initial Claims Data Anna L. Johnson, Senior Economic Analyst (503) 991-2110 Video available by 10:00 a.m. Unemployment Benefits and Agency Response Gail Kiles Krumenauer, Communications Director (503) 947-1268 Record Initial Claims for Unemployment Benefits Continue in Oregon In three weeks’ time, the Oregon Employment Department has received 269,900 initial claims for unemployment benefits. By comparison, net job losses in Oregon totaled 147,800 for the duration of the Great Recession. During the week starting March 29 alone, the Oregon Employment Department received 100,700 initial claims, continuing the record levels of initial claims received the previous two weeks. The agency continues rapidly adding staff to take claims, and processing claims at a record pace. The federal CARES Act payments of $600 will also start processing through Oregon’s system by the end of this week. Helping Oregonians In one month’s time, the Oregon Employment Department more than quadrupled the number of staff dedicated to taking claims. Those staff continue to process record numbers of claims week after week. The Employment Department processed more claims during the first quarter of 2020 than the total for all of 2019. The agency’s newly re-designed COVID-19 page includes expanded resource guides for employers and workers filing claims, and a new dashboard of measures showing our response to the unprecedented need for unemployment benefits. The agency paid $28 million in benefits to Oregonians during the week starting March 29. That figure should increase rapidly as the additional CARES Act benefits of $600 per week start for those already eligible for unemployment benefits. The agency continues receiving guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor, and is working to implement the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program into its systems. The PUA benefits allow the self-employed, contract workers, and gig workers not already eligible to receive unemployment benefits for the first time. SUPPORT BUSINESS • PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT Employment Department News Release Page 2 of 3 April 9, 2020 While it remains critically important that all who can file claims online do so, the agency has also extended contact center hours to 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekdays for filing claims by phone. Even with rapid expansion of staff to take claims, wait times averaged 106 minutes on claims phone lines. Initial Claims The Employment Department has detailed information for 54,500 of the initial claims processed during the week starting March 29. The leisure and hospitality sector, which includes hotels and restaurants, continued to see the greatest number of initial claims for unemployment benefits (14,400). This reflects impacts of public health and safety measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since March 15, there have been about 40,600 initial claims filed in the leisure and hospitality sector. Many initial claims also came from workers in health care and social assistance (8,800) and retail trade (7,100) during the week of March 29. Multnomah (12,100), Washington (6,600), and Lane (5,300) were the counties with the largest number of claims (see table on next page). More initial claims data by industry and area can be found on the QualityInfo.org COVID-19 page. Oregon Unemployment Insurance Initial Claims by Sector Sector Natural Resources and Mining Construction Manufacturing Trade, Transportation, and Utilities Wholesale Trade Retail Trade Transportation, Warehousing, and Utilities Information Financial Activities Professional and Business Services Education and Health Services Educational Services Health Care and Social Assistance Leisure and Hospitality Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation Accommodation and Food Services Other Services Source: Oregon Employment Department Industry details are not available for all claims. Initial Claims Total Initial Claims Since Week of March 29 - April 4, 2020 March 15, 2020 670 4,547 4,756 9,893 1,308 7,109 1,476 539 1,310 4,669 10,104 1,308 8,796 14,415 1,815 12,600 3,166 SUPPORT BUSINESS • PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT 1,421 9,186 9,904 18,740 2,411 13,032 3,297 1,338 2,470 9,248 21,290 2,759 18,531 40,583 3,738 36,845 6,442 Employment Department News Release Page 3 of 3 Oregon Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims by County County Initial Claims Total Initial Week of March 29 - Claims Since March 15, 2020 April 4, 2020 Baker 111 Benton 894 Clackamas 4,972 Clatsop 825 Columbia 554 Coos 891 Crook 265 Curry 238 Deschutes 3,197 Douglas 1,353 Gilliam 12 Grant 41 Harney 39 Hood River 343 Jackson 2,783 Jefferson 233 Josephine 839 Klamath 605 -c- data is suppressed for confidentiality Source: Oregon Employment Department 301 1,859 10,846 1,878 1,241 1,806 647 482 7,464 2,692 20 133 98 747 6,257 498 1,937 1,324 County Lake Lane Lincoln Linn Malheur Marion Morrow Multnomah Polk Sherman Tillamook Umatilla Union Wallowa Wasco Washington Wheeler Yamhill April 9, 2020 Initial Claims Total Initial Week of March 29 Claims Since April 4, 2020 March 15, 2020 39 5,310 1,076 1,558 109 3,657 75 12,091 858 13 355 757 269 58 306 6,578 3 1,277 74 11,435 2,072 3,293 264 7,992 126 29,139 1,780 29 778 1,649 857 110 664 13,935 4 2,672 To file an online claim for unemployment benefits, go to Oregon.gov/employ or call 1-877-FILE-4-UI. For help finding jobs and training resources, contact your local WorkSource Oregon center or go to WorkSourceOregon.org. Equal Opportunity program — auxiliary aids and services available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Contact: (503) 947-1794. For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, call 711 Telecommunications Relay Services. SUPPORT BUSINESS • PROMOTE EMPLOYMENT