More than $1.4 billion in unemployment benefits has been paid out to Hoosiers since March, but many are still waiting. Indiana Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Fred Payne explained Friday why some unemployment claims take longer than 21 days to process.
“This is because a claim may have an issue or multiple issues,” Payne said. “Well, what is an issue? An issue is anything that causes a claim to be reviewed.”
Payne said these issues typically boil down to questions about deductible income, whether someone was a full- or part-time employee, or if the person voluntarily quit. Those things require Department of Workforce Development staff to follow up with both the claimant and the employer. “If we can’t get in contact with one or the other, we leave a message and we have to wait 48 hours for them to return the call,” Payne added. “If they return the call and leave a voicemail and we don’t get back into contact with them, the 48-hour cycle begins again.”
Payne said his department’s staff has gone from resolving 6,800 issues a week to 27,000, while the weekly number of issues resolved through automation is now up to 270,000. “We’re trending in the right direction here, but we know that it’s not deep enough where every single Hoosier who has filed for unemployment benefits is feeling this positive trend,” Payne said. “But we will get there, and each and every Hoosier who is eligible for unemployment benefits will receive those benefits.”
Meanwhile, the number weekly initial unemployment claims continues to fall. The number dropped to under 31,000 for the week ending May 9, down from more than 139,000 during the peak in March.
