As many companies close their doors or limit their services due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, the state Department of Labor has received tens of thousands of unemployment claims.
Since Friday evening, more than 52,000 claims have come it, with more the number growing each day.
To put that into perspective, the state Department of Labor typically receives 2,500 claims on an average week.
Following is the breakdown of the new claims:
- Friday: 2,000
- Saturday and Sunday: 8,000
- Monday: 10,000
- Tuesday: 10,000
- Wednesday: 12,000
- Thursday: 14,000+
To respond to the claims, the department will continue to shift resources to devote more staff to processing new claims.
They said Gov. Ned Lamont has authorized the use of overtime for that reason.
Local
Unemployment pays roughly 50% of your weekly gross earnings over the previous 15 months, and benefits are for 26 weeks, unless an extension is made on the federal level.
The average weekly benefit is $376 and the maximum is capped at $649. Dependent credits of $15 for up to five children are also available.
