The Illinois Department of Employment Security released new statewide data showing the department processed over 830,000 unemployment claims over the last 8 weeks. IDES is reporting that they processed over 81,000 claims for the week ending April 25th alone. This is 10 times the number of claims the department processed over the same period last year, when IDES processed just 69,000 initial unemployment claims.
IDES says its experiencing a slight decline in number of claims since its peak of over 100,000 processed claims on March 21st. IDES says it is still working to implement counter measures in its department to process the unprecedented number of claims, while many say they still cannot get through. Deloitte and IDES are teaming up for self-employed unemployment claims with a system set to launch the week of May 11th.
Those with questions or in need of assistance with unemployment benefits at this time are encouraged to visit IDES.Illinois.gov and use the virtual help service before trying to call.