Unemployed Iowans can expect an extra $300 in benefits starting this week, Iowa Workforce Development announced Thursday.
President Donald Trump's executive order on Aug. 8. established the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program, where individuals can apply for an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits
Iowans must be eligible to receive at least $100 in benefits in order to receive the federal funds.
The program has been funded for five weeks, with benefits expected to be paid out in five to seven business days and retroactive to Aug. 1, 2020.
For more information on the LWA program, click here.
6,377 initial unemployment claims were filed last week in Iowa, a decrease of seven (0.11%) from the previous week.
The number of laid-off Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell to a still-elevated 881,000 last week, evidence that the viral pandemic keeps forcing many businesses to slash jobs.
5,692 initial claims for the week of Aug. 23-29 were by people who work and live in Iowa, while 685 by individuals who work in Iowa but live outside the state.
$21,605,322.53 in unemployment insurance benefits were paid out last week.
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Continuing claims for the week were 76,832, a decrease of 6,480 (7.78%) from the previous week.
The following industries had the most claims, according to IWD:
- Manufacturing (1,357)
- Industry Not Available - Self-employed, Independent Contractors, etc. (1,118)
- Health Care & Social Assistance (545)
- Accommodation & Food Services (529)
- Retail Trade (387)
Additional data released for last week:
- $5,464,800 in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) paid during the week of Aug. 23-29, which were retroactive payments as the program ended July 25. Since April 4, 2020, a total of $1,593,111,343 in FPUC benefits has been paid.
- $4,299,619 paid in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits
- $4,819,202.11 in benefits paid in Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits. Since May 27, 2020, a total of $56,616,059.83 in PEUC benefits have been paid.
- $883,145.17 in benefits paid out in State Extended Benefits. Since July 21, 2020, a total of $4,489,228.78 in Extended Benefits have been paid.
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WATCH: Iowa Workforce Development explains process for filing claims
