MD New Unemployment Claims Surpass 705.5K Amid Coronavirus Crisis
MARYLAND — Maryland workers filed another 43,095 new unemployment claims last week, the state's Labor Department reported Thursday, pushing the 11-week jobless total to more than 705,500.
The latest figure, which covers the week ending May 30, marks a fourth consecutive decline since first-time jobless claims spiked in early May. It, however, still remains well above the 2,090 that was reported the first week of March, before Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan shut down non-essential businesses and ordered residents to stay home to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
On Friday, Hogan will lift coronavirus restrictions on nail salons, retail shops, tattoo parlors, and other non-essential businesses as Maryland enters phase two of reopening. Like in phase one, Hogan is giving local government officials discretion on how and when they will reopen.
Since the state entered phase one of the Republican governor's reopening plan on May 15, there has been a steady decline in new jobless claims.
Marylanders who still need to file an application can do so through the state's BEACON One-Stop application system. Workers can apply for either regular or CARES Act unemployment insurance benefits.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs were created through the CARES Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27.
PUA lets gig workers, independent contractors, and other self-employed people — who otherwise are ineligible for regular jobless benefits and cannot work due to COVID-19 — receive federally financed unemployment benefits. Those who qualify under PUA will receive up to 39 weeks of benefits, effective Jan. 27, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2020.
PEUC, on the other hand, provides 13 weeks of benefits to eligible claimants who have exhausted their other benefits.
For the week ending May 30, some 10,181 Marylanders filed for PUA claims. Another 884 applied for PEUC benefits, according to state data.
Prince George's County — one of the hardest-hit jurisdictions in Maryland during the coronavirus pandemic — had the highest number of PUA claims, with 1,881. It also had the overall highest number of first-time unemployment filings last week. The total: 7,176.
At 138, Baltimore County had the most PEUC applicants in the state.
Here's how many people in each county filed regular unemployment claims last week:
Here's how many people filed over an 11-week period, statewide:
This article originally appeared on the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Patch
