Delaware’s Division of Unemployment Insurance is still sorting through a backlog of claims as it continues to expand to deal with joblessness during the pandemic.
The Division recently signed a lease for more space in its existing Newark facility to house 60 staff members, including planned new hires. Officials say the move could cost up to $500,000.
The number of new claims statewide last week was down slightly to 2,133. That number was about 2,700 the week before.
But even with the decrease it’s still several times more than the Division would deal with in a normal week before the pandemic
“We continue to struggle. There’s no if, ands or buts about that,” said Division Director Darryl Scott. “And to be candid with people, we still have quite a backlog of claims yet to process.”
Scott notes the continuous claims upticked to more than 50,000.
“There could be a number of factors contributing to that—people who worked a week, didn’t qualify for benefits one week, but as people are splitting shifts they’re working one week and then someone else is working. So we’re seeing that number hover around 50,000,” he said.
The Division paid out more than $38 million in claims last week, but the payout is expected to be significantly lower next week as the extra $600 a week for claimants in federal pandemic unemployment compensation recently expired.
Delawareans have received a total of more than $741 million in unemployment benefits since the start of the pandemic - with the state receiving more than 128,000 claims.
