More Than 81,000 DC Residents File For Unemployment Benefits

WASHINGTON, DC — Thousands of DC residents who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic filed for unemployment insurance over the last month, according new data shared by Mayor Muriel Bowser Wednesday.

From March 13 to April 21, 81,942 individuals filed unemployment insurance and 41,362 people were paid. In all, $138,392,273 in benefits have been paid to District residents during that period. Individuals receiving unemployment insurance benefits are eligible to file for extended benefits, starting Wednesday.

As of last Friday, self-employed individuals and gig workers — sometimes referred to as "1099 workers — were eligible to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). Since then, 6,200 people have applied for PUA, Bowser said, during a Wednesday morning press briefing.

Workers receiving traditional unemployment insurance benefits or PUA will receive an additional $600 per week.

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Bowser encouraged District residents who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic to apply for unemployment insurance or PUA if they are eligible.

"I can't emphasize enough, having all of the materials you need and then applying, because we don't want anybody to be spit out of this system or be put into a fraud alert because they don't have all of the identifying information that they need," she said.

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• Former First Lady Obama Helps DC Mayor's Coronavirus Efforts
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