Closure or reduced services in Alaska resulted in 32,128 people filing an initial claim for unemployment insurance benefits in March, a 637 percent increase over the 4,359 individuals who filed in March 2019.
Most of the claims will be approved for benefits, which usually take about two weeks, according to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
The number of individuals receiving unemployment benefits for at least one week in March totaled 14,239, an increase of 33 percent over the same month a year ago.
The biggest jump in unemployment applications came from workers in the accommodation and food services, with 2,689 receiving benefits, up from 884 in March 2019, as hotels and restaurants closed or limited services.
The next biggest increase came from health care and social assistance, due to a big reduction in nonemergency medical visits and procedures. Other areas with large increases in unemployment were transportation and warehousing and trade, which includes retail and wholesale trade.
Statewide, the largest claim number increases since last March were in Anchorage, followed by the Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai Peninsula boroughs. State labor officials said it is not clear yet why some parts of the state didn’t show a rise in claimants from last March, but that is certain to change when April numbers become available in May.
Initial effects of the economic slowdown due to the novel coronavirus on Alaska’s unemployment rate won’t be clear until April data is available.
Labor department researchers and analysts noted in the April edition of Alaska Economic Trends that the Legislature has extended eligibility for unemployment benefits to people who had to stop working due to COVID-19. Legislation also removed the requirement that people actively seek work to receive benefits, raise the additional dependent allowance from $24 a week per dependent to $75 a week and removed the limit on the number of dependents for which a claimant can receive the allowance. The normal maximum is three.
That state legislation, to remain in effect until April 2021, also waives the normal waiting period for benefits and applies to all claims filed after March 1.
On the federal side, the two most significant wage replacement features of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act are a provision that adds $600 a week to the unemployment benefits people already receive and another that extends benefits to the self-employed, who aren’t normally eligible because they don’t pay into the system.
The additional $600 is important because the average unemployed Alaskans receives about $250 a week in benefits and the weekly maximum is $370. That would bring those totals up to $850 a week on average and $970 a week for someone who qualifies for Alaska’s maximum weekly benefit.
For many people, state labor analysts noted, the temporarily larger benefits – the additional $600 in federal benefits being the key piece – will more than replace their lost wages. That bodes well for them getting through the next few months without their normal paycheck, analysts said.
