TRENTON - New Jersey saw the lowest weekly total of people seeking unemployment benefits since the coronavirus outbreak struck, the state Labor Department said Thursday.
New applications fell to 34,410 last week, down from about 42,000 the week before, and far below a record high of 215,000 in early April.
Despite the drop-off, the state has processed what is says are a record 1.1 million claims through last week, totaling $4.3 billion in payments. MORE: 41 million have lost jobs since virus hit, but layoffs slow Of the $4.3 billion in payments, $1.6 billion has come from the state, while $2.5 billion came as part of federal pandemic unemployment compensation.