Florida jobs safety net overwhelmed by the number of workers seeking assistance

Beyond the grim unemployment statistics released this month by the U.S. Department of Labor that reported more than 3 million Americans filed unemployment claims in the week ending March 21, is an overwhelmed system trying to help them.

Florida had 74,021 of those jobless claims, compared to 6,463 the week before as the coronavirus pandemic swept across the United States.

This week, there were 21,000 new jobless claims on Monday, and 31,000 more on Tuesday, said Ken Lawson, director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, in a video interview.

For the week ending March 21, Florida received 920 applications from individuals in Manatee County and 1,269 applications from individuals in Sarasota County.

So far, for the week ending March 28, Florida has received 133,943 applications for reemployment assistance.

The DEO itself has been hiring dozens of additional staff to try to handle all the new claims.

“This week is where we saw the biggest jump in calls with the majority being questions about how to file for reemployment assistance. Last week we had 1,412 calls in five days and this week Monday-Thursday so far we have had 2,212 calls,” said Jen Zak, communications director for CareerSource Suncoast.

CareerSource officials expect the unemployment rate to steadily increase for Manatee and Sarasota counties in the coming weeks and months as more businesses shut down and send their employees home.

With updated guidelines for applying for reemployment assistance, individuals may be eligible if they are quarantined by a medical professional, laid off or sent home without pay for an extended period due to COVID-19 concerns or if they are caring for an immediate family member who is diagnosed with COVID-19, Zak said.

“Some of these claims are temporary and those folks will go back to work when businesses open, but we’ve also seen big layoffs at employers like Feld and Chris Craft as they shut down their operations. We’re already working with employees from both of those companies to help them find placements with new employers ,” she said.

“This is a much different situation than the 2008 recession when we were seeing thousands of job seekers in our career centers each month. In this initial phase we are working with job seekers in a huge time of crisis for them, where they may have just lost their job or aren’t sure if their company will re-open or if so, when,” Zak said.

While CareerSource Suncoast is not where to file for unemployment benefits, those are the majority of the calls that CareerSource is fielding now.

“We are working hard to hear everyone out and guide them in the right direction so they can apply for assistance,” Zak said.

With offices closed by the pandemic, anyone filing for unemployment must register at employflorida.com.

Ironically, the DEO released its jobs figures for the month of February on Friday which show how fast the world has changed. In February, Florida’s unemployment rate was at 2.8 percent and the labor force increased with 195,000 Floridians entering the workforce during the year.

This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 12:09 PM.