Hawaii unemployment office pays out $204M in benefits in April

As Covid-related closures continue for most Island businesses through the end of May, several Hawaii residents are still seeking to collect unemployment benefits due to companies laying off and furloughing employees. Since April 1 alone, the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations has doled out a little more than $208 million in unemployment insurance benefits. Since the beginning of March there have been 229,142 unique unemployment claims filed in the state. Of those claims, 180,175…