Desperation rises as many await benefits

As restrictions on Ga. businesses lift, benefit eligibility will tighten.

As jobless claims pour into the Ga. Department of Labor, many who applied long ago tell of how they have yet to see a cent.

A flood of jobless claims continued to pour into the state Department of Labor last week even as officials warned that some workers face a loss of benefits.

About 149,163 claims were processed — down slightly from the previous week, but still far more than during the worst month of the Great Recession. Since mid-March, the department has processed more than 2.3 million claims, found 928,1010 of them valid and issued at least a first payment to 715,000 people, according to Mark Butler, the state labor commissioner.

But many nonteaching school employees who are not paid through the summer face an end to benefits. They are now without work because schools are closed, not due to the pandemic, Butler said in an online briefing with reporters.

Moreover, as restrictions on businesses lift, many workers will lose eligibility for benefits, he said.

More than 100,000 jobs are listed on EmployGeorgia.com, and many employers are calling workers back, according to Butler. Workers at heightened risk from COVID-19 or caring for someone at risk can continue to receive benefits, but others who say no may lose eligibility.

“Unemployment is not meant to be an income replacement forever,” he said.

That is shortsighted, argued Andrew Stettner, who has studied the unemployment system at The Century Foundation.

The claims numbers continue to signal a disaster, he said. “This is an indication that whatever reopening Georgia is doing, it has not resulted in a lot of hiring.”

Nationally, 1.9 million claims were processed last week, fewer than the previous week. Since the crisis began in mid-March, more than 42 million claims have been processed. The national jobs report for May will be released today.

The most robust hiring has been among grocery stores, distribution centers and delivery services.

In the past several weeks, calls for staffing have come from sectors like health care, financial services and retail, said Ryan Hansen, metro market manager for Robert Half International.

One economic bellwether is temporary staffing help, because in uncertain times, companies often use temp workers instead of hiring full-time workers, he said. Those hirings showed a modest pickup.

“We are starting to see things stabilize in metro Atlanta,” Hansen said. “In fact, for some employers, the focus is shifting to reentering the office while ensuring the health and safety of their employees.”

The sector with the most layoffs continues to be accommodation and food services. But second hardest-hit is health care, where many elective medical procedures have been postponed and many nonemergency services curtailed.

The Department of Labor, which has about half the staff it had during the Great Recession a dozen years ago, has added more than 175 workers, temps and retirees, Butler said.

But he acknowledged that many thousands of unemployed Georgians — especially those laid off and filing for themselves — are still waiting weeks or even months for payments.