A recent estimate from Bloomberg Businessweek found that 9 million Americans lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic, and were unable to get Unemployment Insurance:
“…at least 9 million Americans thrown out of work by the pandemic who didn’t receive any unemployment benefits despite the largest deployment of economic aid in U.S. history, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek estimate based on a review of more than a year’s worth of U.S. Department of Labor data. That’s a hole in the safety net as big as the population of Virginia.”
State workforce agencies are asking Congress to extend through the end of 2022 states’ temporary authority to use contractors as requested by all state workforce directors — Democrats and Republicans alike. CAMI has echoed those calls to ensure the nation’s most vulnerable can receive the benefits they need to survive in a still uncertain economic environment (just today, the Department of Labor found that initial unemployment claims for the week ending on August 21 have yet again increased).
Read more from CAMI on the importance of extending flexibility for states in administering UI programs:
- ICYMI: 50 state workforce agencies call for Congress to Prevent Disruption of UI programs
- 50 state workforce agencies support extending staff flexibility for UI
- The Unemployment Insurance system is not working. Here’s how we fix it.
- Time to Learn Our Lesson: The Opportunities from the COVID-19 Pandemic to Enable State and Local Governments to Work Better for the People they Serve
- Congress must extend state authority to use contractors to administer unemployment benefits