Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending August 28

September 2, 2021

Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending August 28

Weekly claims are the lowest since March 2020

AUGUSTA - For the week ending August 28, the Maine Department of Labor recorded about 700 initial claims filed for state unemployment insurance, and 100 initial claims filed for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). These numbers represent claim applications; claims are then reviewed for eligibility and legitimacy. In total, approximately 900 people were filing an initial claim or reopening their unemployment claim.

Overall, weekly unemployment claims continue to decrease, with almost 300 fewer claims filed last week than the week before that. The number of weekly claims filed were the lowest since March 2020. About 7,000 weekly certifications, or continued claims, were filed last week for state unemployment, with another 8,000 weekly certifications filed under PUA. In addition, about 14,400 weekly certifications were filed for the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. Weekly certifications must be filed by claimants every week in order to continue to receive unemployment benefits.

For the same time period, roughly 2,800 unemployment claimants reported having partial earnings for the week. In many cases, people receiving unemployment benefits can work part-time and still retain the $300 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) offered by Congress through September 4, 2021. More information, including a walk-through video and "partial benefit calculator," can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/pub/

Reminder: Federal unemployment benefits end on September 4, 2021. The Department recommends that claimants take advantage of CareerCenter services. CareerCenters host a variety of hiring events - https://www.mainecareercenter.com/employment/hiringevents/ as well as one-on-one meetings with a consultant, to develop employment or training plans. The CareerCenter can be reached by email at MaineDOL.CareerCenter@maine.gov, by phone at 207-623-7981, or by live-chat at https://www.MaineCareerCenter.gov .

Between March 15, 2020 and August 28, 2021, the Maine Department of Labor has paid out over $2.4 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits. Approximately $1.8 billion of the $2.4 billion was paid through federal unemployment programs.

The Department has handled approximately 274,500 initial claims for the state unemployment program and 114,000 initial claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Note: Claims do not equal the number of unique unemployment claimants. There have been over 4.4 million weekly certifications filed.

Claims data is preliminary and subject to revision. Claims data can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/labor/cwri/ui.html

Work Search Requirement:

Individuals receiving unemployment are required to actively look for work and to accept positions for which they are reasonably qualified. A refusal to accept an offer of suitable work is grounds for disqualifying a person for benefits. More information on the requirement can be found here: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/faq/worksearch/

Whether or not currently unemployed, people looking for work should visit Maine JobLink, to find thousands of jobs posted, including remote work. Employers can post their jobs by registering with the Maine JobLink - https://joblink.maine.gov/ .

Employers who have tried to recall employees or have made job offers that have been declined, or who have scheduled an interview and the potential employee did not attend, can report those situations by using this online form - https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/ucbr/ . The Department will determine whether the individual is receiving unemployment benefits, and, if so, determine whether they should remain eligible.

Employers can also participate in the WorkShare program - https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/workshare/ , which is designed to help employers avoid layoffs by allowing groups of workers to receive partial unemployment benefit payments while their employer reduces their hours. The employees are then subject to being called back when work expands.

Other Updates:

Hiring Events

Employers can work with the Maine CareerCenters to hold independent virtual, in-person, or drive-through hiring events. Information on upcoming workshops and events: https://www.mainecareercenter.gov

Upcoming virtual hiring event: On September 8, 2021 from 10 a.m. - noon, the Lewiston CareerCenter will host an outdoor hiring event, featuring a variety of local employers and industries. More information can be found here: https://www.mainecareercenter.com/locations/jobfair.shtml?id=5332483

Fraud Update

The U.S. Department of Labor has a website - https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/UIIDtheft for people to understand unemployment insurance identity theft, and how and where to report stolen benefits if they are victims.

The website provides key steps to help victims address issues that might arise because of previous identity theft and outlines steps to report the theft of unemployment benefits. To assist victims, the department worked closely with other federal agencies and state workforce agencies to consolidate necessary steps and resources.

The Maine Department of Labor continues its careful review of all claims, and to evolve its fraud prevention techniques.

During the week ending August 28, the Department cancelled 96 initial claims suspected to be fraudulent.

The Department strongly recommends that claimants use a password that is unique to their unemployment account and is not used for anything else. The Department encourages anyone who believes that someone else has used their or their employees personal information to file a fraudulent unemployment application to notify the Department immediately using this form: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/idtheft/

MDOL Recommends Unemployment Claimants Call Thursdays and Fridays

If unemployment claimants have a question about their claim, the Department recommends that they call the unemployment phone line, 1-800-593-7660, between 8 am and 3 pm Monday-Friday. Call wait times continue to decrease on all days, however Thursdays and Fridays remain the days when call volume is at its lowest and usually have shorter wait times. They can also leave a message 24/7 at https://www.maine.gov/labor/contact/index.html. They should only put in one message to avoid duplication.