Coronavirus Latest: Maryland Sees First Drop In Unemployment Claims Since The Coronavirus Pandemic Began, Over 61K Claims Filed Last Week
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- Maryland is seeing its first drop in new unemployment claims since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
In the last week, 61,770 more Marylanders filed for unemployment compared with nearly 85,000 the week before, the week ending on March 27.
Baltimore City saw a little over 6,000 claims while Baltimore County had slightly over 9,000 claims this last week. That number is down from around 13,000 the week before.
Nationwide, 5.2 million more people sought jobless aid as more people are being laid off.
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In the last month, the state has cracked down on the operation of non-essential businesses, leading to layoffs and furloughs during these closures There were 42,334 claims for the week ending on March 21, up almost 1,000 percent from the week before when 3,852 claims were filed.
Mike Ricci, Hogan's communications director, said the state took more claims in March than in all of 2019. This has caused some stress in residents trying to get their unemployment benefits.
To alleviate some of the stress, the state has added a dedicated email address for people to send in their questions and concerns without having to wait on hold. The email is ui.inquiry@maryland.gov.
There's also a new way to file for unemployment in Maryland, after the system was inundated with calls and emails over the last few weeks.
Ricci assured residents that no one will lose benefits or be penalized because of missing a deadline for weekly certification, and they'll be sending messages to those claimants with instructions on how to fix this issue and file their certifications for previous weeks.
Ricci has also said they've added a button on their website for people to submit their email addresses so they can keep them up to date when the system is up and running.
It takes 21 days total to process claims and then get the first benefit payment out, he said, which includes all payments from the date of eligibility, he added.
Check out their unemployment insurance information page here.
If you're still not sure exactly how to file for unemployment, you can check out WJZ's step-by-step instructions here.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.
