Pennsylvania jobless claims exceed 1 million since outbreak

More than one million people filed unemployment compensation claims in Pennsylvania since March 15, state Department of Labor and Industry officials told reporters Monday.

The exact number — 1,134,053 — eclipses any surge in unemployment in memory. It also represents a 2,735% increase in the number of claims (40,000) from the three weeks prior to March 15, according to Pa. Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak.

Between 1987 and this week, the previous claims record had been 61,181 for the week of Jan. 9, 2010.

“It’s just astounding,” Oleksiak said. “No one could have seen this coming.”

The number of claims is stretching an antiquated system and spurred the department to call retired employees back to work and transfer others from the state Inspector General’s Office to help with the added workload, Oleksiak and Unemployment Compensation Benefits Policy Director Susan Dickinson said during a teleconference with reporters on Monday.

About 544,000 claims have been processed, they said.

The department upgraded its website so it can be fully accessed on a smartphone, Dickinson said.

Although claims can be filed by calling the department’s hotline, the call volume is high and wait times are long, especially at the beginning of each week, Dickinson said.

She encouraged people to file claims online and review the resources available on the department’s website to get faster service. Emails are answered in the order they are received, and there is an 11-day backlog, she said.

“We are doing all we can,” Oleksiak said.

Claims will be processed for all of the time people are unemployed and entitled to benefits, they said.

Federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act payments of $600 per week will be made to those filing claims between April 4 and July 24, but those payments are not yet being distributed. When they are, the payments will be deposited separately from the state’s compensation, Dickinson said.

The department is awaiting guidance from federal officials about implementation of the $600 supplement and other provisions of the law that will be supervised by the Labor and Industry department, Oleksiak said.

People filing claims don’t have to take further action to receive the extra cash, Dickinson said.

The department is processing 333 workers’ compensation claims related to covid-19, 132 of which are from health care workers and first responders, Oleksiak said.

He could not provide further details about those claims because of health care privacy laws, he said.