Nearly 48K Filed For Unemployment In Maryland Last Week, DOL Says It's Paid $3.3B In Benefits So Far

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Nearly 48,000 people filed for unemployment the week ending June 20.

The Maryland Department of Labor reported Thursday that 47,801 people filed for unemployment last week. The previous week, which ended on June 13th, 41,941 people filed for unemployment.

Despite the increase in the past week, the number of claims is down significantly from its peak during the week ending May 2, in which more than 109,000 Marylanders filed for unemployment.

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Nationwide, 1.48 million people applied for unemployment, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor, which is slightly down from the previous week when it was 1.508 million.

The Maryland Department of Labor said Thursday it has paid over $3.3 billion in unemployment insurance benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.

They said that 95.6 percent of claims have been processed, that of the 571,836 complete claims received from March 9 to June 20, 546,923 have been processed with 448,897 receiving benefit payments and 98,026 being denied benefits for not meeting state and federal program requirements.

The department added that the large majority that have already been denied were because claimants had issues related to the separation from their most recent employer or were determined to be monetarily ineligible.

They have also cut down backlog by 28 percent over the last week down to 4.4 percent.

There are currently 24,913 claims pending in adjudication.

"As our department continues to focus on processing the earliest unemployment insurance claims filed during the pandemic, we are pleased to report that we have processed more than 95% of all complete claims and paid over $3.3 billion in benefits," said Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson. "Our team is committed to building upon this positive progress in the coming weeks as we continue to cut through the backlog, communicate with our customers, and provide financial support to eligible claimants."

Less than 1 percent of March and April claims remain unsolved, they said. Any remaining claims fall into categories including potential fraud, SSN verification and claimants receiving pensions or severance pay that must be deducted from any eligible benefits.

Here's a breakdown of the claims by county:

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In:
• Maryland
• Unemployment