2. News Room

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
CONTACT: DWD Communications, 608-266-2722
On the Web: http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/news/
On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WIWorkforce
On Twitter: @WIWorkforce

DWD Releases Information on Unemployment Data

MADISON – The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) today released unemployment data from March 15 to December 5, 2020, revealing that 94.45% of the more than 8.56 million weekly Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims that have been filed since March 15, 2020 have been processed.

Although approximately 566,265 claimants have been paid over $4.48 billion since March 15, 2020, the Department continues to focus its efforts on reducing the wait time for outstanding claims related to the pandemic, especially now that states like Wisconsin are experiencing the annual increase in seasonal layoffs due to changing weather.

"States in the north with large numbers of people employed in the construction industry commonly see an increase in claim activity through the winter months, as companies layoff their workers for the winter season," Transition Director Amy Pechacek said. "Regardless, our commitment to all UI claimants remains the same – a program that is easier to understand and navigate and that makes timely determinations."

Issue resolution is considered timely if completed within 21 days of the date the issue was detected. As of Friday, 50,933 claimants had been waiting for 21 days or more for their claim to be resolved.

Unemployment Insurance is a joint state-federal program that provides benefits to eligible workers. Each state administers a separate UI program with state-specific laws and rules, but states must also follow the same guidelines established by federal law. Any answer given on a claim raising a question regarding a person's eligibility must be fully investigated before benefits may be paid; this is referred to as the adjudication process.

Adjudication is the investigation and resolution of eligibility issues raised on unemployment insurance claims. Adjudication is a manual process that requires interested parties be provided due notice to respond to the eligibility issue. Eligibility issues arise from several places including the initial claim, weekly claim, employer contact, claimant contact, and tips from the public. Under normal conditions, adjudication typically takes 21 days to process.

Regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits: If you are out of work through no fault of your own, and you have worked for a covered employer (an employer who pays UI tax) in the last 18 months, you may be eligible for and should apply for regular UI benefits. Regular UI is available for up to 26 weeks (dependent upon an individual's specific situation).

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC): A temporary program that provides up to 13 additional weeks of payments to individuals who have exhausted their regular UI benefits.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): If you are not eligible for regular UI, you may be eligible for PUA. This is a temporary federal program that provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits to individuals who are not eligible for regular UI such as:

• Individuals who are self-employed;
• Certain independent contractors;
• Individuals with limited recent work history; and
• Other workers not covered by regular UI.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC): A temporary emergency increase of $600 per week in unemployment benefits. FPUC provided an additional payment to individuals who are collecting regular UI, PEUC, EB, or PUA. It was automatically added to the weekly benefit rate. FPUC benefits ended on July 25, 2020.

Lost Wages Assistance (LWA): This program is a Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) program that provides an additional $300 per week to eligible claimants who certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. LWA payments will be made retroactively to eligible people for up to six weeks: the weeks ending August 1, August 8, August 15, August 22, August 29, and September 5, 2020. FEMA will not fund any weeks after September 5, 2020.

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Unemployment Benefits Claims Status

The information below is for March 15, 2020 – December 5, 2020.

Approximately 566,265 claimants have been paid over $4.48 billion since March 15, 2020. The Weekly Claims in Process in the table below represents 60,203 unique claimants with 85,836 issues requiring adjudication. A claimant could have one issue or many holding up one week or many weeks.

*Weekly claims received are not a count of people filing claims

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Application & Claim Numbers

**Applications are not a count of people filing claims.

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Benefit Payments

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Other Data

UI Calls Received - week ending November 28, 2020 – 57,997

Average number of days from application to payment for regular UI – 28