Scott Powers
Florida authorities approved thousands of claims for unemployment compensation on Thursday while at the same time reducing the number of applicants who previously had been turned down, meaning the week continues its new course in how the Department of Economic Opportunity handles such claims.
For the third day in a row on Thursday, Florida has shown a new pattern reversing the trend that had seen DEO rejecting more than 40% of the unemployment compensation applications that Floridians had been filing since the coronavirus crisis crashed the economy in mid-March.
On Friday, the department’s numbers, showing activity through Thursday, revealed that 9,432 new claims for reemployment assistance money had been approve, while the stack of those that had been stamped “ineligible” was reduced by 322 claims, according to the DEO’s Reemployment Assistance Claim Workflow dashboard.
Overall, Florida now has approved 427,566 claims filed since March 15, and has rejected 266,201. Just this week, the approval rate has soared, relatively speaking, to 61.4 percent of 693,767 processed claims being approved. That’s up from 59.7 percent that had been posted for the 664,168 claims state officials had processed through Monday.
By Monday, the department was under harsh and spreading criticism for having rejected more than 40% of the claims during the state’s worst economic downturn since perhaps the Great Depression. State officials insisted they were following the book in doing so, but have since demonstrated a different direction, if for just a few days.
People whose claims had been rejected as ineligible were being advised to reapply, leading to the gradual reduction of applicants who’d been deemed ineligible.
The department’s tally of applications submitted also was greatly reduced Thursday as authorities continue to sort through the inbox stack, looking for duplicate claims that had been filed by frustrated Floridians who had tried more than once. As of Thursday, the department was saying it had 1,741,890 total claims submitted, down from just over 2 million that had been tallied through Wednesday.
Of those submitted, 960,410 have been sorted out and confirmed to be unique claims, an increase of 44,408 in one day. Of those, 9,110 were processed Thursday.
Florida paid another 9,940 claims on Thursday, bringing the total of Floridians who have been sent unemployment compensation checks to 426,623, since March 15.
Those unemployed Floridians have received $251 million from Florida’s Reemployment Assistance fund, and $347,617 from the federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Fund. That’s a total of almost $599 million that has gone out in relief to Floridians.
4 comments
Wes Woodside
May 1, 2020 at 1:25 pm
There are still many of us who are Eligible but our claim status has changed to Inactive. No one including the Secretary seems to know why, or how te correct the issue. Can anyone help????
Samantha de Silva
May 1, 2020 at 1:37 pm
is it $347 mill from PUA that has been given out or $347 thousand because it is typed a $347,617.00 not $347 million
Yessica Ormaza
May 1, 2020 at 2:57 pm
I have. No idea but I still haven’t receive those 600 dollars that is so much needed! And idk when will they start giving them
Anonymous
May 1, 2020 at 3:54 pm
I should also be getting the $600 added into my benefits, and was just updated to eligible and only to be paid $275 which they said would be deposited by Monday, yet says they did it yesterday. My bank has no record of a payment or that its pending yet says “Paid” on Connect.
What the actual HELL is going on why can those NOW eligible recieve what was promised by the Federal Government? ITS OUR MONEY, NOT YOURS, WE PAID INTO THE SYSTEM AND PAID OUR TAXES…pay Floridians their money, as they are CLEARLY making interest on the money while in escrow, WHICH THEY WILL KEEP.
Many that do not qualify for state benefit’s are depending on the $600, that was approved over a month ago. Please look for the link to add your name to the CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT and DO NOT vote those involed back in office as, by estimations of ammount given to the state of Florida,has now made over 2.5 million in interest from the money given out by the Feds.
Yet hard working people who goto work and have families are shortchanged or told to wait for money that can help their families and stimulate the economy to whatever businesses are actually open, it would be a win win.
As everyone else is saying, I can’t support my family on $275 a week and after using up all my savings need the CORRECT ammount to be given out to all of us that are due, as many of us will be spending ALL 600 on bills and food.
Stop screwing over your citizens Florida, we are now believing you purposely want people to starve or not be able to pay bills that have been piling up for weeks, and your only reaponse is “be patient”, or ” we are working on it”.
Like I said $ 275 would be a blessing at this point but WHERE THE EFF, IS THE $600, that we are ENTITLED TO. Apparently the state of Florida thinks we are disposable, and obviously does not care for you, your family, or the fact that without that money, NO ONE is going out to entertain themselves until they are caught up on their bills overdue. So opening the state is great, but what happens when the $600 could have had families go and spend money into the economy to make the transition back to open a bit easier yet alone possible.
Get your ass to work FLORIDA GOVERNMENT, and EARN what benefits YOU GET TO KEEP, while we try and figure out how to feed ourselves.
I GUARANTEE NOT 1 POLITICIAN HAS MISSED A MEAL DURING THIS CRAP, and you should personally tell that to each and every one of our children why you get to be ok, but they have to skip a meal or 2 or 5.
I hope the thoughts of hungry children HAUNT you every time you have a meal.
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