“Before the pandemic, just over 40,000 were on continuing UI claims. Now, there are well over 100,000 on state or federal UI benefits.”
Since the initial effects of the pandemic on the labor market, many media stories have reported the cumulative number of initial state UI claims as a measure of joblessness. However, this may be misleading since it undercounts claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).3 As a provision of the CARES Act, the PUA program extends UI benefits to jobless workers who are not typically eligible for regular UI. In practice, this means self-employed people, including independent contractors, "gig" workers, and those with insufficient work experience qualify. This group may be more likely to reflect claims by musicians and other cultural economy workers who are more likely to be self-employed, 4 as well as those with non-standard or part-time employment. [...] To provide a common reference point for sectors with different employment levels, total claims can be compared with pre-COVID-19 UI-based employment data from 2019.13 For the week ending June 6, the Louisiana Workforce Commission received three or more UI claims (initial and continued combined) for every 10 pre-COVID-19, UI-eligible employees in three sectors: Accommodation and Food Services; Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation; and "Other Services."14 Even outside of these extremes, nearly every industry sector has seen an exceptional scale of employment disruption.