ARKANSAS (KNWA/KFTA) — People filing for unemployment declined for the week ending June 13, compared to the previous week, according to the Department of Labor.
In Arkansas, 8,914 filed initial claims, and the prior week there were 9,663 who filed for unemployment.
COVID-19 continues to be the increase for initial claims, according to the DOL.
Arkansas has reinstated a “search-for-work” requirement that will take effect in July. The announcement was made by Secretary of Commerce Mike Preston on Tuesday, June 16.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program claims were more than 760,000 for the week ending June 13, an increase of about 70,000 from the previous week.
Arkansas’s number of PUA claims are not listed in the report.
In Tennessee, the Department of Labor and Workforce reported 19,925 claims were filed last week. WKRN reported that was a slight decrease from the previous week which saw more than 21,000 claims filed.
The Memphis metro area saw nearly 5,500 claims filed last week.
The latest figures show 1.5 million people filed for unemployment nationally. The prior week figures were revised higher to 1.57 million claims, initially reported at 1.54 million.
AR: 9,000+ filed for unemployment — week ending 6/6