The Nebraska Department of Labor (NDOL) announced today that new unemployment insurance benefit payments were stable for the week ending May 23, 2020. There were 5,794 new regular unemployment insurance claims filed during the week ending May 23, 2020. This is a decrease of 0.72 percent from the previous week, when 5,836 initial claims were filed.
The highest number of new claims filed during the pandemic was 26,539 claims during the week ending April 4. There were 1,258 new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims filed last week compared to 1,251 the prior week. Spreadsheets showing regular and PUA claims data are available here and will be updated every Thursday.
Initial claims are filed by individuals to request a determination of eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits. NDOL processes initial unemployment insurance claims and, if an individual meets eligibility criteria, benefits are paid for each week of continued unemployment.