Illinois Again Flooded With New Unemployment Claims, Many Still Can't Access Benefits
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The number of people out of work continues to climb amid the coronavirus crisis, and the new numbers issued Thursday reflect that.
Last week, 5.2 million Americans filed first-time claims for unemployment. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 22 million people have now filed since March 14 – around the time the majority of the stay-at-home orders began.
In Illinois alone, more than 141,000 people filed new claims this week. While that is a drop of 60,000 cases compared with last week, it is a 1,700 percent jump from the same period last year.
And not everyone is able to get a check to keep them afloat.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Thursday, many people continue to reach out to us every day with concerns about their benefits.
If they can't apply, they can't access them.
Betty Smith talked to us on a break from working the phones. The Fox Lake resident has been trying to get a hold of someone at the Illinois Department of Employment Security for weeks to find out where her unemployment money is.
She certified, but has not seen a dime.
"I have the money in there, but I haven't received anything at all yet," Smith said. "It's supposed to be direct-deposited into checking. Nothing there. Nothing there. Not anything at all."
Smith worked part-time as a school security guard and was set to start another part-time job at Wrigley Field, working for the Cubs.
She said she was "very excited."
But then the stay-at-home order came down, and Smith lost both jobs.
"I had planned on having two jobs for the summer, and now I don't have any, and I'm not getting money back from the unemployment either," Smith said.
Smith is one of 650,000 Illinoisans who have filed for unemployment since March 7. Thousands more are still trying.
Those numbers have steadily risen – until last week, the most recent, when the Department of Labor said they dipped for the first time in six weeks. But economist Olugbenga Ajilore said it is not necessarily a positive sign.
"People who are independent contractors or gig workers who are normally not eligible for unemployment insurance should be eligible for pandemic unemployment assistance. But they're not going to be able to access it until May 1." Ajilore said.
Thus, he said, another spike might be coming in a couple of weeks.
Smith hopes something will change by then.
"I'm certifying again on the 27th, so I'm planning on going that day and keeping up every two weeks certifying, and see what happens," Smith said.
In our region, Illinois has the second highest number of unemployment claims since early March – behind Michigan, which has a staggering 1 million.
CBS 2 is committing to Working For Chicago, connecting you every day with the information you or a loved one might need about the jobs market, and helping you remove roadblocks to getting back to work.
We'll keep uncovering information every day to help this community get back to work, until the job crisis passes. CBS 2 has several helpful items right here on our website, including a look at specific companies that are hiring, and information from the state about the best way to get through to file for unemployment benefits in the meantime.
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