Alaska Unemployment Benefit Claims Jump in March; $600 federal pandemic unemployment compensation money
April 21, 2020
The biggest increase in initial claims came during the second half of March, as the first attached chart shows. Most of those claims will result in benefit payments, but that usually takes about two weeks. The number who received unemployment benefits for at least one week in March was 14,239, an increase of 33 percent over March 2019. The number receiving benefits will spike in April as the large wave of initial claims from March is processed. Claimant numbers by industry show some were hit quickly by the shutdown. (See the second chart in the attachment.) The biggest jump came from accommodation and food services, with 2,689 receiving benefits — up from 884 in March 2019 — as hotels and restaurants closed or limited service. The next biggest increase was in health care and social assistance due to a dramatic reduction in nonemergency medical visits and procedures. Two other categories with large increases were transportation and warehousing and trade, a category that covers retail and wholesale trade. Across the state, the largest claimant increases from last March were in Anchorage, followed by the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs. It’s not yet clear why some parts of the state didn't show a rise in claimants from last March, but that is certain to change when April numbers become available next month. Similarly, the shutdown’s initial effects on Alaska’s job numbers and unemployment rate won’t be clear until April’s data come out next month. Alaska’s job count in March was up 0.4 percent from March 2019, an increase of 1,400. The state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point, to 5.6 percent, and the comparable U.S rate increased from 3.5 percent to 4.4 percent. $600 federal pandemic unemployment compensation money Last week, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development began issuing the new $600 federal pandemic unemployment compensation money to Alaska workers affected by the impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The first federal disbursement included $12,853,200 to 16,183 Alaskans currently covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI). The federal pandemic unemployment payment is retroactive to the week ending April 4, 2020, and is in addition to the Alaska UI benefit. Individuals who have received a state benefit for the week ending April 4, 2020, will receive a separate disbursement with the $600 federal payment. The federal pandemic unemployment payment will be available for each week of eligibility under a state or federal unemployment insurance program through July 25, 2020. Applications for self-employed, independent contractors and gig economy workers will begin to be processed the week of April 20th with payment issued approximately two weeks later. Self-employed individuals who have previously filed and received ineligibility notification will be contacted for income verification to complete application processing. Payment will be made retroactive to the week ending April 4, 2020. New virtual chat feature added to Alaska Unemployment Insurance website Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Dr. Tamika L. Ledbetter announced April 20th that a new virtual help feature has been added to the department’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) website, labor.alaska.gov/unemployment. Watson is a virtual chat feature programmed to answer general questions about UI. The feature is found on the department’s website and the UI online application. This feature answers general questions on UI and federal programs related to COVID-19.
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Edited By Mary Kauffman, SitNews
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