(WWJ) The number of people in Michigan who have lost their job amid the coronavirus pandemic continues to rise and has now exceeded 817,000.
The Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity Department revealed nearly 385,000 people filed for unemployment for the week ending April 4th. During that time, 157,000 people in Wayne County have filed unemployment claims. In Oakland County the number of jobless claims reached 95,000, while Macomb County residents filed 93,000 claims.
"The third straight week of record unemployment claims shows the deep impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on Michigan working families," said Dept. of Labor and Economic Opportunity Director Jeff Donofrio. "We're committed to making sure every eligible Michigander receives their full unemployment benefits during this crisis. The only way we'll be able to turn the corner economically is to slow and stop the transmission of this virus."
For the three weeks since the start of the pandemic, Michigan has seen 817,585 total initial unemployment claims. To put it in perspective, that is a 5000% increase compared to the three weeks prior.
The Unemployment Insurance Agency has been flooded with calls and had its system upgraded last week to handle the increase in applicants.
According to the Department of Labor, more than 16.8 million people have filed for unemployment insurance nationwide in the last three weeks.
