Continued claims for regular unemployment benefits declined 7.3 percent in the week ended Feb. 20, a decrease of 5,676 to 71,634 claims.
Officials at the Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation said that is the first significant decline in continued claims this year.
The Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program that provides benefits to those who have exhausted regular benefits also reported a decrease — down 2,941 to 56,507 claims.
The third program for those who have expired PEUC benefits is the State Extended Benefits program. As more and more Nevadans run out of benefits in the first two programs, claimants are increasingly filing with SEB. So that program saw 76,143 claims filed last week, an increase of 2,244 claims.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) claims saw just 6,413 initial claims during the week, about half the number filed in the previous week. Initial claims for the program, which serves the self-employed and others not eligible for regular benefits, vary widely week to week and DETR officials say that is because the program is the primary target of fraud.
Continued PUA claims totaled 89,282 during the week, down 15.5 percent from the previous week.
