The Economic Policy Institute found that for every 10 people who said they successfully filed a jobless claim in the previous four weeks, three to four more attempted to apply but couldn’t get through the system to file a claim.
Not only did it take time for guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor to trickle down to state unemployment insurance offices, but state employees have also had to figure out how to process the claims, says Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
That’s on top of handling the “sheer magnitude of … of people filing claims,” she says, adding that it’s even taking time for some online applications to be updated so their questions address the wider array of situations workers are facing.
USA Today
April 30, 2020
With many workplaces now being forced to operate remotely, long-term flexibility could be here to stay, allowing more women to remain in the workforce while balancing home and work life, says Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
April 30, 2020
According to the Department of Labor, about 26 million have lost their jobs and sought unemployment since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S. But a new survey by the Economic Policy Institute indicates that the true number of Americans who have lost their jobs in the last five weeks is likely much higher.
The Denver Channel
April 30, 2020
The unemployment figures, as bad as they are, are actually a significant underestimate of the problem, according to a new study by the non-partisan D.C. think tank, the Economic Policy Institute. Their survey of over 24,000 Americans found that, for every ten people who successfully filed for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks, three to four additional people attempted to apply but were unable to navigate the system to make a claim. Two additional people did not even try because of the complicated application process. Thus, they conclude, “When we extrapolate our survey findings to the full five weeks of UI (unemployment insurance) claims since March 15, we estimate that 8.9‒13.9 million [more] people could have filed for benefits had the process been easier.”
MPN News
April 30, 2020
Not enough aid has been targeted to working people in the four coronavirus relief bills totaling $2.7 trillion so far, says the Economic Policy Institute. It calls for unemployment benefits to be expanded to new workers, including young people finishing high school and college students, as well as undocumented workers. It says the beefed-up benefits should continue well beyond July 31 or any other arbitrary cut-off date, citing projections that the jobless rate could average 16% in the third quarter.
Sacramento News & Review
April 30, 2020
Small local restaurants that operate without much of a cushion to begin with will be among the casualties of the coronavirus, says Elise Gould, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
“Many of these businesses have already closed because they were so specialized and couldn’t shift to something else,” she said.
Nasdaq
April 30, 2020
Although economists can track layoffs via new unemployment claims, tracking the uninsured in real time is trickier, as each worker can carry insurance for multiple family members, and some are able to shift to other sources of coverage. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that 9.2 million workers were at risk of losing their health insurance coverage.
California Healthline
April 30, 2020
As businesses scramble to stem massive losses amid the coronavirus pandemic, unemployment rolls are exploding. “The number of jobs lost in five weeks is roughly the equivalent of the working populations of 25 states,” the New York Times says. It’s also “over five times the worst five-week stretch of the Great Recession,” according to the Economic Policy Institute. One analyst predicts that less than half of working-age Americans will be receiving wages in May.
Newsweek
April 30, 2020