MASSACHUSETTS — BOSTON, MA – December 15, 2022 – Massachusetts had 25,800 initial claims (IC) for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) during the month of November, an increase of 6,531 from the previous month. Most initial claims this month were seen in Construction, Administrative & Waste Services, and Food & Accommodation. Continued Weeks Claimed (CWC) decreased by 1,796 from the previous month to 191,694. Construction, Professional and Technical Services, and Administrative and Waste saw the highest number of continued claimants(*1) this month.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which was implemented on May 21, 2022, had 0 initial claims and 266 continued weeks claimed filed, a decrease of 31 continued weeks claimed from the previous month. The PUA benefits program ended on September 4, 2021.
The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, which was implemented on May 21, 2020, had a total of 16 initial claims and continued weeks claimed increased by 89. The PEUC program ended on September 4, 2021.

The federal/state Extended Benefits (EB) program, which triggered on May 3, 2020, due to the high volume of claims, had 0 initial claims in the current month and a decrease of 13 continued weeks claimed from the prior period. The EB program ended on July 17, 2021.

The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, which was implemented on May 21, 2020, and provided an additional $300 per week on top of regular benefits, also ended on September 4, 2021, and has had no changes since.(*2)

1. Continued claimants are defined as individuals who have ongoing, active UI claims.
2. NOTE: Following the termination of pandemic assistance (PUA, FPUC, PEUC) and long-term benefit (EB) programs, claims reports will be published in conjunction with the Massachusetts Unemployment and Job Estimates monthly releases, at mass.gov/lwd in the News and Announcements section. Weekly UI claims reporting can be found at USDOL.

All sectors experienced increases in claimants filing initial claims over the month of November. Construction had the largest increase at 1,970 (+68.3%), followed by Administrative & Waste Management at 1,249 (+69.4%), and Food & Accommodation at 753 (+41.0%).

Many sectors experienced increases in continued claimants over the month of November. Construction saw the largest increase in continued claimants of 1,813 (+25.0%). The largest percentage increase was in Arts, Entertainment & Recreation, which saw an increase of 690 claims (+84.7%).
The greatest percentage decline was seen in Education (-5.4%), followed by the Wholesale Trade (-3.4%), and Healthcare & Social Assistance (-3.2%).

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