4 Reasons States Are Slow to Pay Covid-19 Unemployment Benefits

More than 22 million U.S. workers have filed new unemployment insurance claims in the last month, but their success at getting enhanced benefits provided through federal Covid-19 relief legislation partly depends on which state they call home.

State agencies that process and pay unemployment claims have been overwhelmed by the flood of applications, confused by new eligibility rules for self-employed and gig workers, and hampered by clunky technology.

“This is a massive lift to get this done,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a virtual press briefing Thursday. By Friday afternoon, the state expects to have received just over ...