ALMOST $2B TO JOBLESS

The state has sent out more than

$1.9 billion in unemployment assistance to more than 370,000 residents in the past two months.

More than 370,000 Colorado residents received unemployment benefits last month, and over the past two months, the state has sent out more than $1.9 billion in assistance, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment reported Thursday.

About $700 million came from the Colorado Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund via traditional unemployment benefits, with $315 million distributed in April and $372 million in May, said Ryan Gedney, a senior economist with the CDLE, during a weekly video news conference.

The federal government added $1.2 billion under programs authorized by the CARES Act, with more than $1 billion coming through Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provides an extra $600 a week in assistance through the end of July. Just under $200 million went to independent contractors and self-employed workers under Pandemic Unemployment Assitance, which helped 71,381 people last month.

“In comparison, about $2.2 billion was paid out through state and federal UI benefits in 2010, at the height of the Great Recession,” Gedney said.

The unprecedented payouts are raising questions about how long the state trust fund will last before it depletes. Initially, estimates were that it might run out at the end of June. At the current pace of distributions, the $625 million to $650 million still left should last into August, aided by the addition of second-quarter insurance premium payments, Gedney said.

The fund will have enough money on June 30 to avoid triggering a big spike in premiums starting next year, but not enough to avoid solvency surcharges. When the money runs out — something it has done twice before — the federal government will step in with loans to ensure payments still go out.

“Claimants won’t see an interruption in benefit payments,” Gedney said. Employers, however, likely face years of higher premium payments to replenish the fund and repay any federal loans taken out.

Cher Haavind, deputy executive director of CDLE, noted that more than 80% of those who have applied for benefits in Col

orado have received assistance, one of the highest rates of any state.

But CDLE continues to see a crushing volume at its call centers, often from people who call multiple times a day to get through — an issue the state is trying to address.

An ongoing problem involves people who file an initial claim and receive a personal identification number, but who fail to certify every two weeks and report the hours worked, or more likely, not worked.

“You must certify to us on a regular basis that you are able, available and actively seeking work,” said Haavind.

When people don’t certify eligibility, their claims are closed, whether or not they still need assistance.

“It makes our system think they have returned to work,” she said.