Nevada unemployment initial claims increase; continued claims across all programs remain elevated

CARSON CITY — For the week ending Nov. 21, initial claims for unemployment insurance totaled 8,121, up 871 claims, or 12.1 percent, compared to the previous week’s total of 7,243 claims, according to finalized data from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation. Through the week ending Nov. 21, there have been a total of 768,159 initial claims filed in 2020, 746,507 of which have been filed since the week ending March 14.

Continued claims, which represent the current number of insured unemployed workers filing weekly for unemployment insurance benefits, fell for the fifteenth consecutive week to 93,873, a decline of 2,999 claims, or 3.1 percent, from the previous week’s total of 96,872. This is the fewest continued claims for the regular UI program since the report week ending March 28 when there were 58,798 claims filed. This decrease in activity is largely due to claimants exhausting their regular unemployment insurance benefits.

Nevada’s Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which currently provides up to 13 weeks of benefits to individuals who have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits, saw 95,965 claims filed in the week, an increase of 1,956 claims from last week’s total of 94,009.

Nevada’s State Extended Benefit (SEB) program currently provides up to 20 weeks of benefits to individuals who have exhausted both their regular and PEUC program benefits. Nevada saw 13,363 claims filed in the week, an increase of 1,752 claims from a week ago.

The insured unemployment rate for the regular UI program, which is the ratio of regular continued claims in a week to the total number of jobs covered by the unemployment insurance system (also known as covered employment), fell 0.2 percentage points to 6.7 percent. Including claimants in the benefit extension programs, the rate, more appropriately called the extended insured unemployment rate, was considerably higher at 14.6 percent.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which provides benefits for self-employed, 1099 contract workers, and gig workers saw 7,298 initial claims filed in the week ending November 21, a decrease of 3,447 claims, or 32.1 percent, from last week’s total of 10,745. Through the week ending November 21, there have been a total of 649,615 PUA initial claims filed.

There were 74,049 PUA continued claims filed in the week ending November 21, a decrease of 9,495 claims, or 11.4 percent, from the previous week’s revised total of 83,544. This is the fewest continued claims filed in any week for the PUA program.

State level data from the U.S. Department of Labor can be found here. View the state level unemployment insurance claims report for the week ending November 21 here. A dashboard for Nevada weekly claims can be viewed here. A page for Nevada weekly claims characteristics by program can be viewed here. A monthly claims dashboard can be found here and a monthly claims demographic page can be found here. View weekly county claims trends here. Dashboards are interactive reports that allow for deeper analysis of the data.

To file for unemployment in the State of Nevada, please use the online application available 24/7 at http://ui.nv.gov/css.html. People unable to file online may file via telephone by calling a UI Claims Call Center between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday and Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon.

Northern UI Call Center: (775) 684-0350; Southern UI Call Center: (702) 486-0350; Rural areas and Out-of-State: (888) 890-8211. Claimants are encouraged to use the internet to file their UI claims, as it is the fastest and most convenient way to file and reserves the phone lines for individuals who are not able to file online. Online filing during non-peak hours, such as early mornings, at night or weekends is also highly recommended. To continue to receive benefits, claimants must file weekly.

DETR is actively working with law enforcement entities and the Department of Labor to detect, prevent and address unemployment fraud. Employers and individuals who believe they have been a victim of unemployment fraud, can file a report with the agency by visiting www.detr.nv.gov and selecting the Unemployment Fraud tab on the left under “Quick links” and clicking on “Report Fraud to DETR.” Once a report is filed with the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR), nothing else is required by the reporting party. DETR will flag the account so payments are not issued. If needed, the Department may reach out for additional information. To view what additional steps individuals and employers can take if they believe a fraudulent claim has been filed, review DETR’s fraud flyer located on the Bulletin Board at www.detr.nv.gov.

For Nevada workers who are self-employed, 1099 contract workers, and gig workers, Nevada’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA) is available. For further information regarding the PUA program visit, detr.nv.gov/pua#. Individuals will be able to file online at www.employnv.gov or call the PUA Call Center at (800) 603-9681 or 775-298-6007 or 702-329-6699 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Monday through Friday, and Saturday between 8 a.m. and noon.

Claimants are encouraged to visit http://ui.nv.gov/css.html and detr.nv.gov/coronavirus to view important announcements and access essential resources. Online tutorial videos are also available in both English and Spanish and can be viewed on the Nevada Unemployment Insurance YouTube page.