UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS IN TEXAS RISING AGAIN
State to seek grant that would give jobless extra cash
First-time claims for unemployment insurance climbed for the first time in six weeks in Texas, a potentially worrisome sign for a tentative economic recovery.
The number of workers filing claims jumped by 9,000 to more than 60,000. Nationally, claims grew by 130,000 to about 1.1 million. Both are far below the peaks of late March and early April, when governmentordered shutdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus forced mass layoffs across the economy. But both also are several times higher than levels before the pandemic.
Economists say it’s too soon to know whether the increase was a onetime blip or the beginning of a concerning trend. Parker Harvey, an economist for Gulf Coast Workforce Solutions, a workforce development organization, said he would like to see at least three to five weeks of claims data before drawing conclusions.
The jump in unemployment claims comes about three weeks after the expiration of an emergency program that provided unemployed workers with an addi
“I’m reapplying for food stamps. I have to figure out how I’m going to pay my electricity bills, because my rent is $800 and I’m only getting paid $600 every two weeks. I have to try to make it all make sense.” Crystol Antoinette, who worked as a dispatcher for a plumbing company and was an employee at a Denny’s restaurant
tional $600 a week in benefits. Policymakers have yet to agree on whether to extend the program and at what level as they try to negotiate another stimulus package to support the economy — and the U.S.
households that prop it up — during the pandemic.
Before the pandemic, Crystol Antoinette was working two jobs to save money as she prepared to transfer from Houston Community College to the University of Houston. Now, she has none.
Antoinette, 26, who worked as a dispatcher for
a plumbing company and was an employee at a Denny’s restaurant, waited several weeks before her claim was finally approved in June. With about $300 in state benefits and $600 in emergency federal benefits, she could cover her rent, utilities and other expenses.
But with the federal benbe
efits gone, not anymore.
“I’m reapplying for food stamps,” Antoinette said. “I have to figure out how I’m going to pay my electricity bills, because my rent is $800 and I’m only getting paid $600 every two weeks. I have to try to make it all make sense.”
Texas requests help
After the expiration of the $600 per week in unemployment benefits, President Donald Trump issued an executive memo promising an additional $400 per week in assistance to people unemployed because of the pandemic.
On Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said he had directed the Texas Workforce Commission, which administers unemployment benefits in the state, to apply for a $7 billion federal grant made available by the president’s memo.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $300 per week to the unemployed. States are required to match the assistance with $100 per week — intended to make the total assistance $400 per week. Abbott’s office, however, said Texas would count regular unemployment benefits as the state’s contribution, rather than providing an additional $100 match.
Under the president’s directive, workers unemployed because of the pandemic who are receiving at least $100 per week in either state or federal unemployment benefits will be eligible. In Texas, benefits range from $69 per week to $521 per week, so some may fall below the $100 threshold.
“If you are already receiving benefits, no new actions are needed,” said Cisco Gamez, a spokesperson for the Texas Workforce Commission. “Just continue requesting funds as you would normally.”
Abbott’s office said claimants should expect to get the extra $300 per week in assistance after Sunday, and the funds will backdated to the benefit week ending Aug. 1.
“Texas is grateful to President Trump for making these funds available to individuals and asks that our federal partners quickly grant this request so that TWC can swiftly administer this funding to Texans,” Abbott said in a statement.
Texas Democrats criticized Abbott for not finding an additional source of funding for the match, preventing claimants from getting the full $400 per week in potential assistance.
“Abbott is shortchanging Texas families by halving our unemployment benefits for absolutely no reason,” said Abhi Rahman, spokesperson for the Texas Democratic Party. “Three hundred dollars a week is not enough.”
Financially insecure
More than 1.7 million people are receiving state unemployment benefits in Texas, according to state data. Since the spring business shutdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19, the economy has been destabilized by cautious reopenings, consumer fears about shopping and spending money, and mass layoffs.
Many unemployed workers say they have run through savings and cannot find a suitable new job. In mid-July, about 1in 5adults surveyed in the Houston metro area said they sometimes or often didn’t have enough to eat in their household, according to the Census Bureau.
More than 1 in 4 adults in the Houston-area survey missed last month’s rent or mortgage payment or had no confidence that they could make next month’s payment.
Experts said that because getting additional benefits is uncertain, and often decided on political whims, unemployed people should focus on skills training and education to prepare to rejoin the workforce when the economy recovers.
“From a sustainability standpoint, the benefits can’t be at the same level as they were at the most severe parts of this crisis,” said Harvey, the Workforce Solutions economist. “Regardless of what those benefits are doing, you should try to be poised to get back into the job market as quickly as possible.”
Still, it’s easier for certain applicants to get hired during a period of high unemployment than others. Antoinette recently was offered a job at Amazon, but the employer rescinded it, citing a misdemeanor on her record, she said. She continues her search, but so far hasn’t had any luck.
“Everyone says, ‘Just get a job,’” Antoinette said. “I apply to jobs all the time. It’s not so simple.”