By Jason Taylor
DES MOINES, Iowa - Iowa's weekly jobless claims are taking a hit.
First time claims are up substantially, while ongoing weekly claims are 13 percent higher than the previous week.
Ongoing claims are more closely related to the actual unemployment rate.
Iowa Workforce Development says jobless claims typically spike in and around the end of the year holiday period when seasonal layoffs occur.
By the numbers, weekly jobless claims are up 1,095, from 7,141 to 8,236, reflecting the nearly 13 percent increase.
Ongoing claims increased by 5,878, from 38,023 to 43,901, also an increase of 13 percent.
By comparison, ongoing claims reached a peak in the early stages of the pandemic of more than 191,000 in late May.