NJ Labor Department Works Overtime as Unemployment Surpasses One Million

By George N. Saliba, Managing Editor On May 7, 2020

The New Jersey Department of Labor & Workforce Development (LWD) said today that 88,326 residents filed for unemployment for the week ending May 2, bringing the total number of unemployment claims filed since March 15 to 1,018,785. With a statewide workforce of approximately 4.2 million and an unemployment rate that now exceeds 25%, approximately $1.9 billion in associated unemployment benefits has been paid, thus far.

Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo said at today’s state press conference that, in effect, current state unemployment figures dwarf those associated with Superstorm Sandy and, additionally, that his department is working to clear a backlog of claims.

Of the approximate 300,000 claimants that have not yet received benefits, Asaro-Angelo said “about 150,000 of those have just come in over the past couple of weeks, and they wouldn’t have received benefits yet, under any circumstances.”

While the commissioner explained that 93% of claimants receive benefits within two weeks, he added, “When you have over a million claimants, small percentages equal tens of thousands of people.”

Reasons for delays may include, for example: missing information; an employer contesting the employee’s reason for separation; the claimant has wages from out-of-state; an incorrect social security number; or incorrect direct deposit banking information.

Asaro-Angelo said “all claimants are required to answer a federally-mandated questionnaire on a weekly basis, a process known as certifying benefits. But, the certification questions have proven to be an obstacle for tens of thousands of filers per week, because of their work situation.”

He explained, “For example, a worker who expects to be recalled to their job after COVID-19 should nonetheless answer ‘yes’ to the question: ‘Were you actively seeking work?’ It should be noted that if a claimant answers any of these questions incorrectly, per federal law, they will be met with a ‘Claim is not payable at this time’ message. Answering the certified question incorrectly will delay payment of benefits. We don’t want that, and you don’t want that.”

LWD’s guide – myunemployment.nj.gov – answers a range of associated questions and, additionally, a new chatbot on the state’s website will begin operating tomorrow (Friday) to answer common questions.

Asaro-Angelo also said the state: is “in the process of contracting a new call center, to supplement our hundreds of call center staff”; is hiring 130 new, full-time staff; and has “made hundreds of non-UI staff essential, and brought them to the unemployment insurance division.”

Public Health Update

Gov. Phil Murphy meanwhile said at today’s press conference that there are now 4,996 statewide COVID-19 hospitalizations, a 40% reduction from a peak of 8,270. Calling this a “milestone,” he additionally noted that there are 1,470 patients in intensive care, a figure that has not dropped below 1,500 since April 4.

And although there were 460 patients discharged yesterday – and Murphy showcased other encouraging statistics – there were also 325 new hospitalizations and 1,827 new positive COVID-19 cases.

Murphy said, “Again, overall, the numbers in our hospitals continue moving in the right direction, but as I said yesterday, and I have probably said this more days than you like: While we are seeing good signs, we cannot lull ourselves into thinking that all is well.”

He added, “We are still in the midst of a public health emergency. Our hospital counts are still above what they would need to be in normal times.”

The state also reported 254 new fatalities, for a cumulative total of 8,801 deaths.

Long-Term Care Facilities

The New Jersey National Guard is being deployed to long-term care facilities to assist with non-healthcare and non-medical needs, Murphy said today, as he thanked the nurses in these centers. Some long-term care facilities have been under scrutiny following a series of widely reported concerns.

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