Fourteen percent of American workers are now unemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to new data from CNBC.
Some states have it decidedly worse than others. Michigan and Pennsylvania have been hit particularly hard, with one out of every five workers now jobless. That’s compared to one out of every 16 in Florida, and one out of every 14 in Texas, the data found.
The data, however, may be unreliable, as some states may have whole chunks of residents who have not been able to file unemployment claims. In Florida, for example, there has been mass dissatisfaction with an unemployment website that has not been letting many people even complete their claim forms.
Only 6 percent of Florida’s workforce has been able to apply for unemployment thus far due to persistent and widespread issues with the online system.
Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to the chaos this week, saying “We have to do better.” He appointed a new official to look over the matter. But because of that, Florida’s numbers could see a surge in the coming weeks.
California has perhaps the biggest overall number of applications for unemployment with 2.8 million claims processed, equivalent to 15 percent of its workforce. That number seems to be evening out and declining now though, which could mean that the filings have reached a peak already.
New York hasn’t seen as many filings as other states, but around 13 percent of its workforce has filed for unemployment, CNBC said.
Congress has responded to the issue by increasing unemployment benefits and adding another $600 per person. However, states can still deny claims for any reason, CNBC noted.
As officials scramble to address the myriad problems that have arisen because of the virus, many people are still left without any unemployment funds after weeks of the pandemic and the shutdowns.