Unemployment benefit claims down 85% in Cy-Fair since this spring, still up year over year

Unemployment rates continue to be higher than usual amid the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy Adobe Stock)

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By Danica Lloyd | 3:46 PM Sep 29, 2020 CDT | Updated 3:46 PM Sep 29, 2020 CDT

An average of 133,379 unemployment insurance claims statewide have been made each week since mid-March, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. By comparison, the average number of weekly claims made across the state in 2019 was 13,497.

Texas claims peaked in early April when more than 315,000 individuals made claims in the span of one week, but weekly claims dropped below 50,000 for the first time since during the week ending Sept. 12.

Harris County has seen a similar trend after an early April peak of claims with about 7,000 reported the week ending Sept. 19. Still, this is a 200% increase year over year, according to TWC data.

A steady month-over-month decline in claims made can also be seen in Cy-Fair. There was an 85% decrease in claims made between March 18-April 18 and Aug. 19-Sept. 19 across seven ZIP codes.

By Danica Lloyd

Danica joined Community Impact Newspaper as a Cy-Fair reporter in May 2016 after graduating with a journalism degree from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. She became editor of the Cy-Fair edition in March 2020 and continues to cover education, local government, business, demographic trends, real estate development and nonprofits.

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