May 8, 2020 4:10 a.m.
The Oregon Employment Department has updated information on the number of initial claims filed for unemployment benefits.
During the week of April 26th to May 2nd, the OED received 19,600 initial claims for unemployment benefits. The agency has received more than 381,000 initial claims since COVID-19 business closures began in mid-March.
83 percent of initial claims for regular unemployment benefits received between March 15th and May 2nd have been processed. For each of the past four weeks, more claims have been processed than received in Oregon.
The OED has also processed more than 10,000 applications for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefits for the self-employed, contract, gig and other workers not eligible for regular unemployment benefits.
The OED release said it continues expanding its ability to process more claims for unemployment benefits. There are currently 635 employees working unemployment claims, with more hiring underway and a new contact center opening next week. Claims processing continues seven days a week.
In addition to more staffing, the department continues working to implement more unemployment benefit programs. Programming and testing are underway for the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. This provides up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for those who have run out of benefits and remain out of work due to COVID-19 business closures. Program eligibility and more details to this and other programs are available with this link: https://www.qualityinfo.org/covid-19