The number of new unemployment claims increased in the state last week, after two weeks of falling numbers, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Many of the new state applications were for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a federal benefit for workers who do not qualify for traditional unemployment benefits because they were self employed, gig workers or didn’t work enough to qualify, the DOL said.
One worker who received word Wednesday she was approved for PUA encouraged applicants not to give up, even if they receive notice they do not qualify for benefits. She had gotten a denial letter just the day before.
“Getting denied is key to getting to claim, which is completely counter-intuitive,” said writer and digital marketing professional Allison Riney, who moved to Philadelphia recently from Ocean City.
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The state has said denial of regular state unemployment is needed before a claimant can qualify for special federal benefits.
The U.S. Department of Labor said 1.1 million Americans filed for initial unemployment benefits in the week ending Aug. 15, also up from the previous week’s number of 971,000. The national unemployment rate is now 10.2%, U.S. DOL said.
The N.J. DOL said Thursday that 25,405 new applications came in last week, and a total of 1.5 million New Jersey workers have now filed for unemployment benefits since the COVID-19 pandemic forced a shutdown of many businesses.
Riney was already out of work before the new coronavirus struck, and the health crisis made it impossible to find another job, she said.
It took weeks for Riney to finally get to the point where she could certify for benefits, she said. She was notified by New Jersey DOL on June 2 that she qualified for an extension of benefits, since her unemployment had run out within months of the pandemic hitting.
Then, when she went online to certify, the NJ DOL website said there was no claim on file.
On Tuesday, she got a letter saying she was rejected for benefits because she did not work enough in her base year of 2019. The following day she got notice she qualified for PUA, and that the rejection was necessary in order for PUA to kick in.
“I hope others are finally getting it now, too,” Riney said.
PUA provides benefits to self-employed workers, independent contractors and those who do not have enough recent earnings to qualify for regular unemployment, as well as those unable to work due to COVID-19.
“We’re moving claims forward for workers whose income has dried up due to COVID or who cannot return to their place of work because of the virus,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “We are currently paying benefits to as many as 300,000 people who do not qualify for traditional unemployment — this is an entirely new population of people who are receiving benefits in addition to the record numbers of ‘regular’ claimants who are in need, often for an extended period, during the pandemic.”
Of the 1.5 million applicants, 1.3 million have met the monetary requirements for eligibility. Of those, 96% have received payment, DOL said.
The $600 weekly supplement, called the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, has ended for weeks after July 25. But New Jersey continues to issue payments for eligible weeks from April 4 through July 25, NJ DOL said.
