Jobless claims in Texas, nation up
State to seek grant that would provide extra $300 per week
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 government-ordered shutdowns to slow the spread of the coronavirus forced mass layoffs across the economy. But both are several times higher than levels before the pandemic.
Economists say it’s too soon to know whether the increase was a one-time 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.
For the first week of August, the number of Bexar County workers filing unemployment claims dropped to 2,967, the lowest since mid-march, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Because of a lag on data at the county level, that number is from a week before the increase reported at state and national levels.
Despite the decline, it’s still
more than triple the amount of claims filed this time last year. The jump in unemployment claims comes about three weeks after the expiration of emergency program that provided unemployed workers with an additional $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.
After the expiration of the $600 per week in unemployment benefits, President Donald Trump issued an executive memo promising an additional $400 per week 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 be 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.”
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.
Experts said that because getting additional benefits remains 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.”
Brandon Lingle contributed to this report. Lingle writes for the Express-news through Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Reportforamerica.org.