Maine initial unemployment claims reach three-month high

AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) - Roughly 2,500 Mainers filed initial unemployment claims, or re-opening an existing claim, for the week ending October 31st. According to the Department of Labor, that’s the highest level since the week ending July 11th, 2020.

The DOL reports about 1,700 initial claims came in for state aid, while 470 were made for federal assistance. About 12,900 weekly certifications were filed for state unemployment, with another 15,100 for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

Maine unemployment figures for week ending Oct. 31(WABI)

Weekly certifications filed for the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program totaled about 14,400. There were roughly 1,650 weekly certifications for the state Extended Benefits program.