Nevada saw rising number of new jobless claims filed last week

Nevadans filed a rising tally of new unemployment claims last week, although the volume of people continuously seeking jobless benefits has stayed largely steady for more than a month, state officials reported.

A total of 11,677 initial claims for unemployment insurance were filed for the week ending March 27, up 4,036 claims, or 52.8 percent, from the previous week, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

The state also received 70,509 so-called continued claims, down 1,216 claims, or 1.7 percent, from the prior week. Continued claims, which represent the tally of unemployed workers filing weekly for insurance benefits, “have seen little change in the last six weeks,” the department said.

Meanwhile, the volume of gig workers or other self-employed Nevadans seeking jobless benefits is sliding.

The state reported 746 initial claims last week by workers who fall under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, down 2,227 claims, or 74.9 percent, from the week before, and 58,548 continued claims, down 12,382 claims, or 17.5 percent, DETR reported.

According to the state, initial PUA filings are at the lowest level since the benefits program started.

DETR began accepting such jobless claims last May, after the coronavirus pandemic shut off much of the economy virtually overnight.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.