How RJ did unemployment pay analysis

The Review-Journal set out to determine if Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation system was managing claims properly under the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent economic shutdown. To determine that, we undertook an analysis of data.

The U.S. Department of Labor releases monthly data collected from all 50 states, District of Columbia, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, showing how many initial claims the state received, how many people received their first check and how long it took for people to get their checks. The data goes back to 1971.

Using those databases and merging them with census population figures, the Review-Journal was able to determine what percentage of people received their first checks each month, the months with the highest claims and how many people were paid quickly.

The data did not include the number of unemployed people in each state, so percentages were derived from comparing claims paid, initial claims and state population drawn from census data estimates.

The data contained some faulty numbers submitted by states, and Labor Department officials said they were trying to clarify some submissions. The data often is incomplete for weeks as the labor department waits for states to report – with some states failing to report until several weeks after the majority already have provided data.

Th analysis did not include the thousands of independent contractors and the self-employed who were able to file for unemployment benefits with DETR under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance filing system, which rolled out with technical glitches weeks after the federal program was announced.