There were 6,031 regular unemployment claims and 2,554 pandemic unemployment claims filed during the week ending on Oct. 24, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) reported Thursday.

These rates are higher than normal but consistent with the rest of the month. CDLE previously reported 5,892, 6,242 and 5,735 weekly regular unemployment claims in October.

Prior to October, weekly unemployment claims seemed to be steadily decreasing.

Weekly claims reached below 5,000 on Sept. 26 for the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. However, the first week of October saw an increase of over 1,000 claims, ending the downward trend.

In 2019, the average number weekly claims was 1,900 and the highest number of weekly claims was 3,162, according to CDLE.

Since COVID-19 reached Colorado in March, 760,187 pandemic and regular unemployment claims have been filed.

A total of $5.86 billion of unemployment benefits have been paid since March 29, including $2.14 billion in regular unemployment and $2.49 billion in federal pandemic unemployment.

For the week ending on Oct. 10, waste management and remediation services workers made up a plurality of Colorado’s unemployment filings with 10.9% of the weekly claims.

They were followed by construction workers, healthcare/social assistance workers and accommodation/food services workers, each accounting for at least 10% of the weekly claims.