Last week, nearly 120,000 Arizonans filed first-time unemployment claims, an increase of nearly 40,000 people.
Close to 100,000 of the new claims were filed by the self-employed or people working in the gig economy.
Until mid-May the self-employed were not allowed to claim unemployment. Federal legislation temporarily waived that ban, but will soon expire.
The first week of June was one of the largest weeks for first-time claims since the start of the pandemic. The highest one-week total was the first week in April, but it did not include the self-employed.
The federal government, through the CARES Act, added $600 to unemployment checks during the pandemic. That funding will expire on July 31. It is unclear whether or not Congress and the president will renew it.
