Ballooning jobless claims flood system during COVID crisis

Ballooning jobless claims flood system during COVID crisis

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jobless claims in Utah ballooned again last week as tens of thousands of people forced out of work during the coronavirus crisis flooded a system that had been staffed to handle a trickle during a time of historically low unemployment. Numbers released Thursday show 28,560 new unemployment claims, a nearly 50% increase from the already record-setting levels from the week before as businesses all over the state close to slow the spread of the pandemic. State unemployment division Kevin Burt says there have been nearly as many claims in the last two weeks than all of 2019.