Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending May 8

May 13, 2021

For Immediate Release: May 13, 2021

Claims for Unemployment Compensation, Week Ending May 8

AUGUSTA - For the week ending May 8, the Maine Department of Labor recorded about 1,300 initial claims filed for state unemployment insurance, and 100 initial claims filed for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). In total, approximately 1,600 people were filing an initial claim or reopening their unemployment claim.

About 12,300 weekly certifications, or continued claims, were filed last week for state unemployment, with another 12,900 weekly certifications filed under PUA. In addition, about 16,900 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.

Between March 15, 2020 and May 8, 2021, the Maine Department of Labor has paid out over $2.17 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits.

The Department has handled approximately 257,200 initial claims for the state unemployment program and 111,400 initial claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. Note: Claims do not equal the number of unique unemployment claimants. There have been over 3.9 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: On Sunday, May 23, 2021, the Maine Department of Labor is tightening work search requirements for people receiving unemployment, reinstating the traditional work search requirement. Maine had temporarily expanded the types of activities that would meet the work search requirement, adjusting to sudden closings, health concerns, school, childcare and other issues brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Work search requirements had been relaxed because of the pandemic to include job-related education or skills development, and networking. Now people receiving unemployment will be 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.

In many cases, people receiving unemployment benefits can go back to work part-time and still retain the weekly $300 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) stipend. A new online tool offered by the Department will calculate how many hours a week a person can work and still collect partial benefits, including the $300 stipend, based on weekly earnings. The tool is found on the MDOL Unemployment website under "Looking for work?"

CareerCenter services are available to help people identify and take their next steps to employment or training. It is a requirement that those receiving unemployment insurance benefits also be registered on the Maine JobLink, which includes a weekly newsletter for job seekers highlighting opportunities and training.

Other Updates:

CWRI Publishes New Article: Job Outlook to 2028 by Educational Requirement

MDOL's Center for Workforce Research and Information has published a new article titled Job Outlook to 2028 by Educational Requirement.

The article can be found here: https://cwri1.blogspot.com/2021/05/job-outlook-to-2028-by-educational.html

Maine Department of Labor Tightens Work Search Requirement

The Maine Department of Labor is tightening work search requirements for people on unemployment, reinstating the traditional work search requirements as of Sunday, May 23, 2021. Maine had temporarily expanded the types of activities that would meet the work search requirement, adjusting to sudden closings, health concerns, school, childcare and other issues brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Work search requirements had been relaxed because of the pandemic to include job-related education or skills development, and networking. Now people receiving unemployment will be 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.

The regional CareerCenters of the Department of Labor will assist people to connect with jobs by hosting job fairs, offering job workshops and reemployment services.

In many cases, people receiving unemployment benefits can go back to work part-time and still retain the $300 weekly stipend offered by Congress through this summer. A new online tool offered by the Department will calculate how many hours a week a person can work and still collect partial benefits, including the $300 stipend, based on weekly earnings. The tool is found on the MDOL Unemployment website under Looking for work?

Those who were self-employed and now receiving unemployment must attest to engaging in activities designed to fully reopen their business, such as connecting with theOffice of Business Developmentto explore the resources available to small businesses. If an individual was previously self-employed but has no plans to return to self-employment, they will be required to do a work search and accept a position for which they are reasonably qualified.

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.

CareerCenters host a variety of hiring events 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 MaineCareerCenter.gov.

Employers who have tried to recall employees or have made job offers that have been declined can report those refusals at the MDOL Reporting Refusal of Return to Work online form. 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, 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.

Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation Program

The Maine Department of Labor began accepting applications for the new Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation Program (MEUC) on April 29, 2021.

The MEUC program was created by the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 and provides a $100 supplemental benefit to certain individuals who had both employment and self-employment prior to becoming unemployed during the pandemic. The program is payable for weeks ending January 2, 2021 through September 4, 2021.

The program is intended for claimants who had at least $5,000 in net self-employment income, however qualified for state unemployment insurance benefits resulting in their self-employment income not being included in their benefit calculation. Individuals receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) are not eligible for MEUC benefits because their self-employment income has already been taken into consideration.

More information and FAQS are available on our website: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment

Virtual Hiring Events

Employers can work with the Maine CareerCenters to hold independent virtual and drive-through hiring events.

Upcoming virtual hiring event: May 20, 2021 from 2-4 p.m., Maine CareerCenters are hosting a virtual job fair for the Hospitality/Food Service/Retail/Wholesale/Customer Service fields.

Job seekers can register for any of these hiring fairs by using this online form.

More information on upcoming workshops and events: https://www.mainecareercenter.gov

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.

Fraud Update

The U.S. Department of Labor launched a new website for people to understand unemployment insurance identity theft, and how and where to report stolen benefits if they are victims.

The new 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 May 8, the Department cancelled 189 initial claims and one weekly claim 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/

All claimants are required to be registered on the Maine JobLink, a free job search tool, where claimants can upload their resumes and employers can post their job openings: https://joblink.maine.gov/ada/r/

People can also call their local CareerCenter to schedule a 1:1 appointment with a CareerCenter Consultant to explore work search activity options specific to the persons individual needs.

More information, videos, and answers to frequently asked questions on the work search requirement can be found at: www.maine.gov/labor/unemployment If an employer has offered work to an employee and that employee refused the work, the employer should notify the Department. A fact-finding would be held to determine if there was good cause for the refusal of work. If no good cause is determined, then the claimant would no longer be eligible for unemployment benefits.

Employers can report refusals of work here: https://www.maine.gov/unemployment/ucbr/