PORTLAND, Ore. — Another 28,500 Oregonians filed for unemployment benefits last week, according to data released by the Oregon Employment Department.
There have been 362,200 Oregonians who have filed unemployment claims in the past six weeks, since the coronavirus outbreak began forcing employers to close their doors and slash their workforces.
Here's a look at how many people have filed in the past six weeks, according to OED:
- Week ending April 25: 28,500
- Week ending April 18: 36,700
- Week ending April 11: 53,800
- Week ending April 4: 78,100
- Week ending March 28: 88,600
- Week ending March 21: 76,500
In each of the past three weeks, OED said it has processed more initial claims than it has received. OED has detailed information for 29,700 of the 46,700 claims that were processed last week.
The counties with the largest number of claims last week were Multnomah County (6,200), Washington County (3,600) and Clackamas County (3,000).
The highest number of claims — 5,100 last week — continue to come from the accommodation and food services industries, which includes hotels and restaurants. There have been nearly 60,000 claims in accommodation and food services in the past six weeks.
Other industries heavily impacted over the past six weeks include health care and social assistance (35,300), retail trade (28,700), manufacturing (22,500) and construction (16,000).
Nationally, 30.3 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past six weeks. Numbers released Thursday morning showed that 3.8 million American workers applied for unemployment benefits last week.
This marks the worst stretch of U.S. job losses on record. It means that roughly one in six workers have lost their jobs in that time.
Resources
To file an online claim for unemployment benefits, go to Oregon.gov/employ or call 1-877-FILE-4-UI.
Self-employed gig workers can apply for unemployment benefits through the CARES Act Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Access the application here.
For help finding jobs and training resources, contact your local WorkSource Oregon center or go to WorkSourceOregon.org.
Auxiliary aids and services are 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.