Unemployment Claims Spike In March

As expected, Crawford County’s unemployment claims spiked in March as businesses began adjusting to the spread of COVID-19.

Claims that month were at 554, higher than any point during the Great Recession. The unemployment rate jumped to 5.8 percent from 4.7 percent in February.

There were 125 initial claims in January and 65 claims in February, meaning March’s totals more than doubled over the two months combined.

The 554 claims are the highest since December 2008 when 449 initial claims were made and the unemployment rate spiked to 10.3 percent.

Crawford County’s unemployment mirrors troubles across the state and country.

The Missouri Department of Economic Development reported employment decreased by nearly 21,000 jobs and the seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose from 3.5 percent to 4.5 percent.

DED said the full impact of COVID-19 would not be reflected in March’s report, but would in the April report.

More than 104,000 Missourians filed new claims for unemployment during the last week of March and according to Missourinet, more than 453,000 Missourians have filed.

Around 30 million Americans have filed for unemployment.