Many In Pennsylvania Still Desperate For Unemployment Answers
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Four weeks have come and gone since the last $600 weekly federal unemployment benefit hit peoples' bank accounts.
Tens of millions of unemployed Americans say they relied on that extra cash. KDKA investigator Meghan Schiller talked to two people who said that extra money sounds nice, but they're still waiting on their first check.
Desperate for answers, Michelle Eckstein reached out to KDKA for help.
"Where did we slip between the cracks? Just not me, but all of us?" said Eckstein.
Adrian Wallace messaged KDKA's Meghan Schiller on Twitter.
"I've been waiting for the past two to three months now and it's just so stressful," Wallace said.
Wallace feels like he's at his wit's end, and he's not alone. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week increased to 1.1 million people nationwide. Experts only expected 923,000.
"It just becomes difficult. And you're doing everything you need to do, and you just can't get a solid response from anyone," said Wallace.
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Pre-pandemic, Wallace worked at an upscale hotel. He reached out on Twitter after tuning in to the Department of Labor and Industry's virtual town hall.
"They get on Twitter and they tell you, 'Oh, we're going to answer questions.' And I'm just like, you guys can get on Twitter and tell us to wash our hands, but you can't tell us when we're getting paid," said Wallace.
Eckstein filed online and just wants an answer, one way or the other.
"That was the end of April when I did that and I still haven't received anything," Eckstein said.
She reached out to KDKA via email saying, "Hi Meghan, I am one of the folks still waiting for a check."
As of Thursday, she's one of the 1.1 million people nationwide looking for solid work. KDKA reached out to the media representative for the state's unemployment office for any guidance on what could be holding up these two peoples' applications. We will update this story when we hear back.