Comment on Iowa jobless claims decrease, though continuing claims rise

Iowa saw a decrease in new unemployment claims but an increase in continuing claims between Feb. 14 and Feb. 20, Iowa Workforce Development reported Thursday.New claims fell from 5,998 to 5,457, while continuing claims rose from 46,963 to 49,597.About 35.5 percent of claims were related to the coronavirus, an increase from 31.2 percent from the previous week.Construction was the largest source of jobless claims with 1,125, followed by manufacturing with 1,120, self-employed and independent contractors with 747, retail trade with 343 and health care and social assistance with 298.The claims resulted in $16.6 million in standard unemployment benefits, $31.1 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, $4.7 million in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and $14.6 million in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation.These numbers are preliminary and have yet to be adjusted by the U.S.