Surge In Unemployment Claims Forces Change To Application Process

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — In the two weeks since March 16, a record 239,263 Minnesotans have applied for unemployment benefits. That's more than applied for all of 2019, and so many that the state is having to make changes to the application process just to keep up.

As of Monday, March 30 all applicants are asked to apply online, but to deal with the increased load only some applicants can apply on certain days. Applicants are now being sorted by the last digit of their social security number.

If your social security number ends with:

• 0, 1, or 2: apply on Mondays
• 3, 4, or 5: apply on Tuesdays
• 6, 7, 8, or 9: apply on Wednesdays

Thursday and Friday are open to any applicants who missed their assigned days earlier in the week.

Speaking at the Governor's coronavirus update Monday, Commissioner of Employment Steve Grove stressed that these changes will not cut an applicant's benefits in any way. Residents applying for unemployment are still eligible for the same services as before, and in fact some services are expanding.

The coronavirus outbreak has caused mass layoffs across the country as business shut down and residents are ordered to stay home. To meet the need of the incoming unemployment applicants, Minnesota has expanded benefits in several ways.

• Certain qualified applicants will be able to receive as much as $600 more per week.
• Unemployment benefits will soon be made available to the self-employed who have lost work because of the coronavirus.
• Benefits have been extended 13 weeks for all applicants, including prior applicants who had used up their benefits.

The changes come on top of Executive Order 20-05, which Governor Walz signed earlier in the month and made benefits available faster, waived employer surcharges and strengthened the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

For more information on who is available for unemployment benefits and how to claim them, click here.

Meanwhile the Department of Employment and Economic development is also working on plans to help small businesses closed by the coronavirus, including a small business emergency loan program which launched Monday. Under the program, business like bars and restaurants that were shuttered by the Governor's order earlier this month are qualified for new loans to keep their business afloat.