States Seek Cure for Unemployment Systems Socked by Pandemic

In addition to killing more than a half million people in the U.S., the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the American economy, shuttering businesses and scattering workers, millions of whom turned to—and quickly overwhelmed—state agencies responsible for processing and paying unemployment benefits.

Twelve months after the onset of the crisis, many states are still grappling with a fallout that included massive delays, billions of dollars being paid to fraudulent applicants and the dismissal of department heads held responsible for those failures.

“It was an avalanche of claims, like nothing that anyone could see coming,” said Amy Pechacek, who was appointed ...