US faces unprecedented surge in unemployment claims – By Al Jazeera Newsroom (Al Jazeera) / March 20 2020
States that cut unemployment benefits during better economic times may be unprepared for the deluge in applications.
The United States unemployment benefits programme, a key part of the safety net for the labour market, is about to face its biggest test in more than 10 years.
More than 1.5 million applications could be filed this week, economists said, as people who work for restaurants, bars, hotels and other businesses suddenly find themselves out of work because of the coronavirus pandemic.
States that cut unemployment staff and benefits during better economic times may be unprepared for the deluge of applications, analysts say.
“States are just not in a position to respond to this,” said Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project in Washington, DC. “They’re at historically low levels of funding and they’re moving into a state where there may be historically high levels of claims within a couple of weeks.”
The pandemic is dealing a blow to states already facing budget shortfalls. Twenty-three states were short on unemployment insurance trust funds as of last year, before the coronavirus shock, a Department of Labor calculation shows.
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