If you’re still struggling to achieve unemployment benefits in Michigan that you are authorized to receive, you are increasingly in the minority.
The state of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency has provided an update today on the status of unemployment claims related to COVID-19 in Michigan. They tell us that since March 15th at the onset of the crisis, 1,717,555 people filing claims have applied for state and federal benefits, with $5.62 billion in benefits paid to a total of 1,374,751 of workers. Roughly 92-percent of those eligible to make a claim have now either received benefits or have been approved to receive them.
Authorities say that Michigan has been a leader among states in processing claims and removing barriers to providing benefits. That includes Governor Whitmer’s recent executive order sweeping more than 100,000 non-monetary issues off of accounts, accelerating payments to individuals.
Deptartment of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio says, “While we appear to be outpacing most other states in paying benefits and processing claims, our focus remains on helping those who still need one-on-one assistance to receive benefits,” and adds, “No one will lose a dollar of benefit they are eligible for and we will not rest until everyone gets the benefits they deserve.”
Michigan’s unique claims total includes those to be reported by U.S. Dept. of Labor this week, and those who have applied for federal benefits, but are not yet being reported by the feds. Those newly eligible under the federal CARES Act are counted in the US Department Of Labor statistics only if they applied for state benefits and were initially denied due to ineligibility at the time.
Here is the latest data from the Unemployment Insurance Agency from March 15 – May 13, 2020:
- Benefits paid = $5,625,085,822
- Total unique claims (State and Federal) = 1,717,555
- Claimants determined ineligible for benefits = 64,014
- Total unique eligible claims (State and Federal) = 1,653,541
- Claimants Receiving Benefits = 1,374,751
- Claimants eligible for certification (now or shortly) = 144,660
- Total claimants paid or eligible for payment = 1,519,411
- Percent paid or eligible = 92-percent
- Claimants with non-monetary hold (due to federal rules) = 94,309
- Claimants with prior UIA claim issues = 39,821
- Total claimants requiring adjudication = 134,130
- Percent of total = 8-percent
Michigan Compared to Other States:
- Michigan was among the first states to begin sending the additional $600 federal payments in Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (April 8) Open PUA unemployment applications to self-employed workers and independent contractors through PUA (April 13). Many states, including those in the Great lakes, have still not made the application available.
- “Michigan has been uniquely responsive to the crisis and stood out in terms of the ways it rapidly changed and mobilized resources to try to help people” – The National Employment Law Project, and Washington Center for Equitable Growth said (Detroit Free Press)
- 2nd behind NY in percent of claimants processed from 3/21 – 4/11 (Roll Call)
- 3rd behind VT and WV in percent of the workforce receiving benefits from 3/25 – 4/25 (NY Times).
