Nebraska unemployment claims in decline

The rate of new and continued unemployment claims in Nebraska declined last week, according to the Nebraska Department of Labor in a statement issued Thursday.

The week of May 30 saw 5,084 new regular unemployment insurance claims filed, a decrease of 12.19 percent from the prior week when 5,790 initial claims were filed.

The highest number of new claims filed during the pandemic was 26,539 during the week of April 4.

Last week 1,079 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims were filed, compared to 1,229 the week before that -- a decrease of 12.2 percent.

Regarding continued unemployment claims, last week saw 57,397 claims, a decrease from the week prior with 59,528 -- about 3.6 percent.

Total benefits paid last week were approximately $64.2 million.