State workforce agencies across the country are turning to the federal government for financial and administrative support as they try to absorb the coronavirus-induced upheaval to their unemployment insurance systems.
Just as jobless claim filings soared by 70,000 to 281,000 last week, there were reports of several states’ unemployment insurance websites crashing. Other states have dangerously low trust funds that soon could be overwhelmed by benefits-seekers. Unemployment benefits filings are projected to surge to more than 2 million this week, with Ohio already reporting nearly 140,000 new claims.
The U.S. Department of Labor now has an urgent communication role to ...