AUGUSTA, Maine (WGAN) Maine labor officials say nearly 2,100 first-time claims for federal and state unemployment benefits were filed last week.

The number of initial claims last week, which was announced Thursday, is down from about 2,600 first-time claims the week before.

Between March 15 and August 1, the Maine Department of Labor paid out over $1.32 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits. By comparison, the department paid out less than $74 million in benefits in all of 2019.

The department continues to carefully review each claim as it investigates unemployment imposter fraud. A little over 1,000 initial claims and weekly certifications were cancelled last week because they were fraudulent.