PHILADELPHIA - As more services shut down in Pennsylvania due to the novel coronavirus, the state is seeing a spike in people filing for unemployment compensation.
The Department of Labor and Industry said unemployment compensation claims exceeded 50,000 on Monday, and Tuesday’s filings were on course to exceed that number.
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In the entire first week of March, the state received barely 12,000 claims, according to federal data.
“It’s going to be a big mess, a double mess: illness and unemployment,” said John Dodds, director of the nonprofit Philadelphia Unemployment Project, which has been flooded with calls from people who were laid off.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry is relaxing some of its unemployment compensation benefits restrictions amid high call volumes to its service centers.
The department said Tuesday that it has suspended the weeklong wait to start receiving benefits and temporarily waived work search and work registration requirements.
The department is also advising applicants that they may be eligible if their employer temporarily closes or goes out of business, reduces their hours or tells them not to work, self-quarantine or isolate because of the coronavirus.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.