This browser does not support the Video element.
Relief for some stuck in Maryland’s unemployment backlog
It’s a story FOX 5 has been covering relentlessly, Maryland's months-long struggle to pay people their unemployment benefits. New numbers out Thursday show the backlog of people waiting hasn’t changed much this week over last.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland's labor department is reporting the highest number of new unemployment filings in two months.
Download the FOX 5 DC News App for Local Breaking News and Weather
The department reported Thursday that 66,559 people filed for unemployment last week. That's the highest number since the week that ended May 2 when more than 109,000 people filed.
RELATED: FOX 5's Lindsay Watts continues to push for answers on Maryland’s unemployment problem
Nationally, more than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment last week. That's a historically high pace that indicates many employers are still laying people off in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last week, Maryland's labor department said it had processed 96% of nearly 625,000 complete unemployment claims it received from March 9 to June 27. Of them, 492,789, or nearly 79%, received benefit payments.
WATCH LIVE ON YOUR MOBILE DEVICE
This browser does not support the Video element.