Thousands apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program in Pennsylvania

People still questioning their benefits for unemployment during pandemic

FOX 29 journalist Alex George talks to some of the people affected by pandemic trying to figure out their benefits.

PENNSYLVANIA - People who applied to a new federal benefits program for self-employed and gig-economy workers and others barred from receiving traditional unemployment should begin to see the money next week, state officials said Monday.

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About 150,000 workers have applied to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which is being administered by the state’s unemployment compensation office. The state began accepting applications April 18, but said it wasn’t immediately able to begin processing weekly claims as it built out the system.

Applicants should be able to file weekly claims by the end of this week, Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said Monday.

The state has received more than 1.7 million applications for regular unemployment since mid-March. It has paid more than $5.3 billion in benefits. By contrast, the system paid nearly $1.8 billion in regular unemployment compensation benefits all of last year, officials said.