The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development distributed $455 million in unemployment benefits last week, which increased the total of pandemic-related jobless relief to $22.8 billion.

The unprecedented increase in unemployment benefits is a primary reason the personal income of New Jerseyans rose 7.3 percent during the third quarter over the prior year, despite the ongoing pandemic, according to research from Pew Charitable Trusts released Wednesday. New Jersey is one of seven states that saw a greater than 50 percent increase in government aid from the same period in 2019.

The Department received 11,563* new unemployment claims last week – 4,629 fewer than the week prior, which is a week-over-week drop of nearly 29 percent, and the lowest number of new initial claims since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered businesses in mid-March of last year.

The number of initial unemployment claims has averaged around 16,100 per week for the prior four weeks. The number of initial unemployment claims received since mid-March of 2020 now surpasses 2 million*, more than at any other point in history.

“Department of Labor staff are reminded every day of the tremendous toll COVID-19 is taking on New Jersey workers and businesses,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “That’s why we are pushing forward on dual fronts – first, and foremost, serving workers in need, and secondly, urging Congress to pass a new, comprehensive and long-term relief bill before current benefits expire on March 13, which could leave millions of workers across the country temporarily and devastatingly without benefits.”

The average per claimant benefit is now $15,550. Approximately 84 percent of active claimants have received more than $10,000 in benefits; 60 percent have received more than $20,000; and 20 percent have received more than $30,000.