Payment of State jobless benefits goes up with economic downturn

Jobless benefits paid to Iowans in October were up a bit from September, and up significantly from a year ago. Labor-market analyst Gary Wilsonsays the state is paying out between one-and-a-half and two million dollars a week, which means about 6,000 to 8,000 more people getting the benefits. Wilson says Iowa’s being affected by the country’s economy as a whole.With a softer national economy, industries are seeing a slowdown and a lot of the increase in claims is from people laid off at factories. Wilson says while October jobless benefits were a bit higher than the previous month, they look far higher because of a quirk in the calendar.Claims are paid on Wednesdays, and October had five Wednesdays whereas September had only four. While jobless benefits paid are one economic indicator, another important one is the total number of unemployed Iowans: that report’s due out later today.