Unemployment claims in Arizona have exploded in the wake of the growing shutdown.
In the past week, the state received 89,000 new applications, up from 30,000 the week before and 3,000 at the end of February.
The White Mountains are likely to follow the trend, although the statewide data released this week did not include county-specific figures. Apache and Navajo counties were already suffering two or three times the state unemployment rate before the closings.
The flood of new claims rose by 70% and then tripled again within two weeks, overwhelming the Department of Economic Security – at one point the website crashed with the rush of visits.
The tidal wave of applications may slow processing, but the federal bailout will result in far more generous benefits once applications are submitted.
Arizona has one of the least generous unemployment benefits in the nation with a maximum weekly benefit of $ 240 – more than just $ 235 in Mississippi. The unemployment check is intended to cover half of a worker’s salary up to the upper limit.
However, the federal stimulus package is providing an additional $ 600 per week for four months for anyone who has lost their jobs due to the economic impact of COVID-19.
Individuals who are already unemployed and who have exhausted their benefits due to the normal 13-week limit can receive the weekly payment of $ 600 for an additional four months.
The economic stimulus package has also dispensed with the normal one-week waiting period for the start of benefits. It’s unclear if this benefit is retroactive if the onslaught of new cases slows processing down.
At the national level, around 3.3 million new jobless claims were filed, the largest one-week increase in history.
The state has a $ 1.1 billion unemployment claims payment fund provided by unemployment tax that employers pay on the first $ 7,000 of a worker’s wages.
Total performance for the past week was $ 3.24 million, compared to $ 3.04 million the week before. Presumably, these payments will increase as the new entitlements are entered into the system.
State lawmakers had already extended unemployment entitlement to workers affected by COVID-19. The benefit includes both dismissed and unpaid leave of absence. It also covers people who have left their job to take care of loved ones. The new, temporary rules also do not require people to actively seek work during the health shutdown.
The numbers for the individual counties are behind the weekly damage figures, so that the full effects on the counties of Navajo and Apache will only show in a few weeks. Both counties have a relatively high number of COVID-19 cases compared to other rural counties across the state.
The closings resulted in hundreds of layoffs in the Apache and Navajo counties, forced by the closure of Navajo Generation Station and the Peabody Coal Mine, major employers in the area. Both counties had an unemployment rate before the pandemic that was well above the state and national averages.
For example, in January the US unemployment rate was 3.8 percent, compared to an Arizona unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. In the same month, the rate was 8.1 percent in Navajo County and 11 percent in Apache County.
Nationally, economists have forecast that the unemployment rate could triple quickly and reach 20 or 30 percent at least for a short time before infection rates drop due to the success of the social distancing policy.
A national poll predicts the virus-related closings will hit Arizona’s tourist, service-minded, and sales-tax-dependent economy particularly hard.
The Wallet Hub website ranked Arizona number 36 when it came to the potential economic impact of the virus.
The ranking took into account factors such as the percentage of jobs provided by small businesses, the percentage of workers with paid sick leave, the rise in unemployment claims, reliance on vulnerable industries such as tourism and entertainment and other factors, the percentage of workers who are from home, internet infrastructure, Financial position of the state government and other measures.
Arizona ranked 9th for its reliance on vulnerable industries such as recreation, tourism, dining, and entertainment.
Peter Aleshire covers county government and other issues for the Independent. He is the former editor of the Payson Roundup. Reach out to him at [email protected]
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