unemployment benefits

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New Estimate of Theft From Unemployment: $45.6B

Pandemic crimes prosecutor calls it 'unprecedented fraud'

(Newser) - The federal government has a revised estimate of the amount of money the US unemployment insurance program lost through fraud during the pandemic: $45.6 billion. Criminals collected the money between March 2020 and April 2022 through such tactics as using the Social Security numbers of dead people, CNN reports....

Unemployment Claims Hit Highest Mark Since November

Despite strong job market, applications for jobless aid rose to 262K

(Newser) - The number of Americans who signed up for unemployment benefits rose last week to the highest level since November, though the US job market continues to show signs of strength. Applications for jobless aid climbed by 14,000, to 262,000 and now have risen five out of the last...

Jobless Claims in US Plummet to Lowest Level in 52 Years

Number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits drops to 199K, the lowest since 1969

(Newser) - The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits plummeted last week to the lowest level in more than half a century, another sign that the US job market is rebounding rapidly from last year's coronavirus recession. Jobless claims dropped by 71,000 to 199,000, the lowest since mid-November...

This Labor Day, a 'Perilous Crossroads' for Millions

With eviction moratorium expired, millions of Americans will now lose all unemployment benefits

(Newser) - Mary Taboniar went 15 months without a paycheck, thanks to the pandemic. A housekeeper at a resort in Honolulu, the single mom of two saw her income completely vanish as the virus devastated the hospitality industry. For more than a year, Taboniar depended entirely on boosted unemployment benefits and a...

Scope of Unemployment Fraud in Pandemic Is Staggering

Axios reports that half of benefits, totaling hundreds of billions of dollars, might have been stolen

(Newser) - Stories about rampant fraud related to unemployment benefits paid out during the pandemic have been percolating for a while. The AP reported in March that states were being overwhelmed by bogus claims. Earlier this week, WBTW noted that the FTC has logged 400,000 complaints so far from people who...

If Markets End Losing Streak, This Report Is Why

Weekly jobless claims fall to a pandemic low

(Newser) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again, viral infections drop, and business restrictions ease, per the AP . Major US stock indexes rose after the report came...

A Big Sign That the US Economy Is on the Upswing

684K filed for unemployment benefits last week in the US, the lowest number since pandemic began

(Newser) - The number of people seeking unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to 684,000, the fewest since the pandemic erupted a year ago and a sign that the economy is improving. Thursday's report from the Labor Department showed that jobless claims fell from 781,000 the week before. It'...

COVID Jobless Programs See 'Frightening Levels of Fraud'

$63B paid out improperly

(Newser) - With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs. The fraud is fleecing taxpayers, delaying legitimate...

This State Wants Its Money Back After Overpaying Unemployed

Missouri says it sent out $150M in overpayments last year, but recipients say they can't pay it back

(Newser) - A recent letter in the mail to St. Louis salesman Mike Conners demanding he pay back the state of Missouri more than $7,500 in unemployment benefits caught him by surprise. But as FOX 2 reports, his letter was no anomaly: The state now says it paid out $150 million...

Calif.: Criminals Raided Unemployment Funds to Tune of $11.4B

State's labor secretary says hackers, other criminals may have stolen an additional $20B

(Newser) - From March of last year to the middle of January, California paid out some $114 billion in unemployment benefits. Now, the state's labor secretary, Julie Su, has some alarming news on about $11.4 billion, or 10%, of that figure—those payments were fraudulent, stolen by hackers, identity thieves,...

New Jobless Claims Still at 4 Times Normal

But they're down by 19K from last week

(Newser) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 19,000 last week but remained elevated at 787,000 as a resurgent coronavirus gripped the US economy. While at the lowest level in four weeks, the new figures released Thursday by the Labor Department are nearly four times higher than...

Limbo on COVID Relief Starts Hitting Home Saturday

Unemployment benefits for millions begin expiring

(Newser) - The impasse in DC on a COVID relief package begins to get very real on Saturday for millions of Americans. Two programs set up during the pandemic to provide benefits for the unemployed expire, reports CNBC . One helps self-employed and gig workers and the other provides $300 a week to...

New Jobless Claims Are, 'in Absolute Terms, Bad News'

They remain elevated at 803K

(Newser) - The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell by 89,000 last week to a still-elevated 803,000, evidence that the job market remains under stress nine months after the coronavirus outbreak sent the US economy into recession and caused millions of layoffs. The latest figure, released Wednesday by the...

GAO: Weekly Unemployment Numbers Flawed

Government watchdog finds Labor Department has been providing an inaccurate reading

(Newser) - A government watchdog has found that the Labor Department’s widely watched weekly unemployment benefits data are providing an inaccurate reading on the number of newly laid off workers because of flaws in the government’s data collection. The Government Accountability Office said in a report Monday that the Labor...

Dec. 26 Could Be a Rough Day for 12M People
Dec. 26 Could
Be a Rough Day
for 12M People
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Dec. 26 Could Be a Rough Day for 12M People

Jobless aid programs will expire unless Congress moves fast: study

(Newser) - When Todd Anderson lost his job doing landscape design for resorts in the spring, the single dad of four from Mackinaw City, Mich., began selling off his belongings. He squeaks by on the $362 he receives each week in unemployment benefits, reports NPR . But he’s about to lose that,...

Stimulus Hopes Fade as 'Cliff' Looms

Unemployed stand to lose checks at the end of the year

(Newser) - The Trump administration warned Tuesday not to expect a major pandemic relief package before next week's election. "The chances are slim when you have someone like Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House," White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said on Fox Business Network, Reuters reports. President Trump...

6 Months In, Businesses Still Getting Squeezed

Jobless claims ticked up last week

(Newser) - The number of people seeking US unemployment aid rose slightly last week to 870,000, showing that the viral pandemic is still squeezing businesses six months after it first erupted. The figure coincides with evidence that some newly laid-off Americans are facing delays in receiving unemployment benefits as state agencies...

A Welcome Milestone on Jobless Claims

New claims drop below 1M for first time since March

(Newser) - Layoffs continue five months into the pandemic, but there is a silver lining. Unemployment claims dropped below 1 million last week for the first time since March. There were 963,000 new filings for state unemployment benefits in the week ending Aug. 8—a drop of 228,000 claims from...

Agency Finds Jump in US Unemployment May Top Out at $300

Labor Department guidance says states can count existing payments

(Newser) - The way the Labor Department figures it, the federal government's increase in unemployment benefits under President Trump's plan might come to $300—half the size of the checks that had been going out. That's because the agency's guidance advises that states would be allowed to count...

Trump Threatens Executive Action on COVID Relief

Move would likely trigger another court battle; negotiations continue

(Newser) - With a coronavirus relief deal still elusive , President Trump is considering executive orders—he detailed three of them on Wednesday—unless a deal is reached by Friday. "My administration is exploring executive actions to provide protections against eviction" as well as "looking at a term-limited suspension of the...

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