Coronavirus New Jersey: Unemployment Filings Soar As Restaurant Owner Says 'Little Guys Were Left Out' Of Federal Relief
TRENTON, N.J. (CBS) -- New Jersey is approaching another grim milestone in the coronavirus pandemic. It comes as more workers are losing their jobs in the Garden State.
"We should carry the expectation that tomorrow we will exceed 100,000 total positive cases," Gov. Phil Murphy said.
Announcing another 4,200 cases and 300 deaths from COVID-19, Murphy says the state is at least several weeks away from relaxing social distancing rules and reopening the economy.
The announcement comes as new jobless figures show an unprecedented number of people are still filing for unemployment.
The Department of Labor reports an additional 140,000 people filed for unemployment in New Jersey last week, and about 4.5 million nationally.
In the last five weeks, more than 858,000 New Jerseyans and 26 million Americans have filed for unemployment benefits.
"The department continues to do everything it can to streamline processes and ensure that all claims are handled quickly," Murphy said.
Murphy says, so far, New Jerseyans have received more than $1 billion in unemployment benefits during the pandemic. That includes most of the staff at Franco Sapori's restaurant in Collingswood.
"For the most part, my guys understood. We all looked at each other like it's out of our hands, it's happening worldwide," Sapori, owner of Sapori Trattoria, said.
Coronavirus New Jersey: Much Of $1.8B In Federal COVID-19 Relief 'Unusable,' Gov. Phil Murphy Says
While the restaurant does takeout to help pay the bills, reopening could be difficult without help from the next round of the federal paycheck protection plan for businesses.
"For some reason, the little guys were left out. It seemed like the very first wave of funds went for bigger restaurant chains," Sapori said.
As employees and employers look for answers on assistance programs, New Jersey officials continue to ask people to look online before calling the busy phone lines.
The one-stop portal is Covid19.nj.gov.