Community Corner
Mich. Unemployment Claims Top 1.1M
The state announced Wednesday it has paid out roughly $825 million to more than 800,000 people.
Another 134,119 Michiganders filed for unemployment benefits between April 12 and Sunday amid the COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports.
That brings the five-week total to almost 1.2 million — roughly one-quarter of Michigan’s workforce. On Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said 2,900 state employees would be laid off for 10 days because of shortfalls in the state budget. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also announced layoffs.
Find out what's happening in Across Michiganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
In spite of an influx of COVID-19 patients, several hospitals have done layoffs or furloughs, including Henry Ford Health System, Beaumont Health, Detroit Medical Center and Trinity Health.
The state announced Wednesday it has paid out roughly $825 million to more than 800,000 people.
Find out what's happening in Across Michiganfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Nationwide, 4.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week. During the last five weeks, a total of 26 million have filed.
“In the last five weeks, the number of workers applying for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits has skyrocketed to well over 20 times what it was in the pre-coronavirus period, and over five times the worst five-week stretch of the Great Recession,” writes Heidi Shierholz, senior economist for the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute.
