It’s been anything but easy with staff being overwhelmed, technology being taxed beyond limits, and phone queues lasting seemingly forever, but there are now more than a million Michigan workers on unemployment benefits thanks to the current pandemic.
The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) reports today that they have now provided benefits to 1,018,315 Michigan workers who are unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The agency has also disbursed more than $1.66 billion in payments since March 15th. The most recent U.S. Dept. of Labor report showed 1,178,021 Michiganders filed unemployment claims between March 15th – April 18th. Most workers who have not yet received unemployment benefits will be eligible in the coming weeks once they complete the federal requirement to certify their claim.
Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio says, “We are working hard to provide emergency financial assistance to those affected by COVID-19, with more than 1 million Michiganders receiving benefits.” He adds, “While Michigan’s unemployment system appears to be outpacing the rest of the country in paying benefits, much work remains for those who still need help completing their claim. We will not rest until everyone receives the benefits they are entitled to.”
In conjunction with the federal CARES Act, Michigan was among the first states in the nation to begin sending the additional $600 federal payments in Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) and make the unemployment application available to self-employed workers and independent contractors through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
In a recent Detroit Free Press report, Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst of Washington, D.C., nonprofit National Employment Law Project, said the state has been uniquely responsive to the crisis, saying that Michigan is one of the few states already issuing the additional $600 pandemic benefit handed down from the federal government. Evermore credited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for improved access to benefits.
The UIA has extended its call center hours and added hundreds of customer-facing staff. The agency has also built in new tools to its online system connecting more than 100 staff to resolve technical issues like locked accounts.
In the weeks preceding the pandemic, the UIA received around 5,000 new weekly unemployment claims. During the Great Recession, the weekly high was around 77,000 in 2009.
Unemployment claims during COVID-19:
- Week-Ending March 21: 128,806
- Week-Ending March 28: 304,335
- Week-Ending April 4: 388,554
- Week-Ending April 11: 222,207
- Week-Ending April 18: 134,119
- Five Week Total: 1,178,021
Officials say that the fastest and easiest way to file and certify a claim is online at Michigan.gov/UIA. More than 90-percent of all claims are filed and certified on the 24-hour website. Customers are urged to use the site during off-peak hours between 8pm-8am.
For anyone having difficulty with their account, the UIA Call Center – 866-500-0017 – is available 8am-6pm Mon-Fri and 7am-2pm on Saturday. Customers in the call center and online chat queues before closing time will have their calls or chats resolved that day.
