SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Nearly 20,000 new people applied for unemployment in Utah last week, an exponential increase that’s in line with national data released Thursday amid widespread business closures related to the new coronavirus.
The food preparation and services industry took the biggest hit, with a 37% increase in unemployment claims after Gov. Gary Herbert ordered restaurants across the state closed to dine-in customers to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Claims from office support and management workers also increased, though by slimmer margins.
Salt Lake County, the state’s most populous, had the largest hike, with Utah and Davis Counties following behind.
“Clearly, the volume of claims has increased significantly, and also quickly,” said Kevin Burt, Unemployment Insurance Division director for the Utah Department of Workforce Service, in a statement. Many of those newly jobless workers do remain connected with their employers and expect to go back to work after the businesses re-open.
In Utah, a total of 19,591 people filed for unemployment, a nearly 1,400% increase over the week before.
Across the country, nearly 3.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, almost five times the previous record set in 1982.
