IDES Processes More Than 1.2 Million
Claims in Last Eleven Weeks
State Extended Benefits Now Available in
Addition to PEUC as a Result of Unemployment Rate
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[June 21, 2020]
The Illinois Department of Employment Security
(IDES) today released new statewide data showing the department
processed 72,780 new initial claims for regular unemployment
benefits during the week ending May 16.
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The department has now processed 1,226,394 claims
for unemployment benefits from March 1 through May 16. This amount
is 12 times the number of claims the department processed over the
same period last year, when IDES processed just 93,000 claims for
regular unemployment benefits.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, launched May 11,
processed 74,515 initial claims in its first week. PUA provides 100%
federally-funded unemployment benefits for individuals who are
unemployed for specified COVID-19-related reasons and are not
eligible for the state’s regular unemployment insurance program, the
extended benefit (EB) program under Illinois law, or the Pandemic
Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (PEUC), including
independent contractors and sole-proprietors. Up to 39 weeks’ worth
of benefits are potentially available under the program for
COVID-19-related unemployment claims.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/May/22/images/ads/current/cca_laptop-sda021709.png)
IDES processed 36,367 Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation
claims (PEUC), which provides up to 13 weeks’ worth of 100%
federally funded benefits to individuals who have exhausted their
regular state unemployment benefits. PEUC is potentially available
for weeks beginning on or after March 29, 2020 and continuing
through the week ending December 26, 2020.
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/May/22/images/ads/current/graue_19SILVERADO_051820.png)
The Department also announced state extended benefits
(EB) are now available to those who exhaust the allotted 26 weeks of
regular state unemployment and the additional 13 weeks of federal
PEUC benefits. EB provides an additional 13 weeks of regular
unemployment benefits and is made available when the state
experiences a high unemployment rate. The Illinois unemployment rate
currently sits at 16.4%.
Statewide unemployment claims data, which reflects activity for the
week prior, is made available on the IDES website every Thursday
afternoon. PUA claims data will follow these same federal embargo
provisions, with this week’s data available on Thursday, May 21.
Previous initial claims data has undergone a revision to properly
account for the number of successfully processed claims.
Those with questions or in need of assistance with unemployment
benefits at this time are encouraged to visit IDES.Illinois.gov.
[Illinois Office of Communication and
Information]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2020/May/22/images/ads/current/ldn_more_exposure_bch.png) |