An estimated 7 million to 12 million out-of-work Americans are struggling to get access to the unemployment benefits they may be owed, according to a new survey from the Economic Policy Institute.
That means there’s likely a vast undercount of how many people are unemployed in the U.S. — a difficult concept to grasp, since current statistics show a dizzying 26.5 million people have successfully filed for benefits. It also means that scores of suffering Americans, by no fault of their own, are losing out on the cash they need to make rent, buy food, and care for their children during a global coronavirus pandemic.
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Researchers at the left-leaning institute say there are an estimated 7.8 million to 12.2 million people who either tried to get access to unemployment benefits and weren’t able to, or were unable to apply at all because it was too difficult.
It’s likely that they’re the ones facing jammed phone lines and crashing government websites. Or they may live in states that can’t yet accept the applications of gig workers — even though self-employed people now qualify for benefits — because their state-run unemployment system can’t handle the load. Their pain is reflected in reports of people suffering mental health crises over the lack of pay or becoming so angry with officials that they’re sending illegal death threats.
Using an online Google survey to query nearly 25,000 people between April 14 and April 24, the EPI researchers found that for every 10 people who were able to successfully make a claim, there were three to four people who tried and failed to do so. There were also some who didn’t file unemployment because they knew it’d be too difficult.
“These findings imply the official count of unemployment insurance claims likely drastically understates the extent of employment reductions and the need for economic relief during the coronavirus crisis,” the researchers wrote.
Unemployment insurance usually matches a small portion of a person’s weekly take-home pay, and it’s intended to tide someone over while they look for a job. But thanks to a deadened economy — pummeled by the coronavirus pandemic, unlikely to recover anytime soon — legislators expanded it to an extra $600 a week through July 31.
The increased take-home pay means approximately half of all unemployed workers make more once they achieve the benefits than they would have pre-coronavirus, according to the Wall Street Journal. The $600 bonus equates to working 40 hours a week at $15 an hour, compared to the federal minimum wage of $7.25.
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Cover: A woman wearing a protective masks walks past the New York State Department of Labor offices in the New York City borough of Queens, NY, April 2, 2020. (Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
