In the months before the COVID-19 pandemic began shutting down much of Hawaii’s economy, the isles were enjoying a steady streak of low unemployment. In March, the rate was just 2.4%, according to federal labor statistics. Then in April, it soared to 23.8%, with the count of people unemployed here topping 150,000.
As the state endeavored to phase in economic reopening, the bleak picture brightened a bit. Earlier this month, data released from the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DLIR) showed that in July the unemployment rate had dropped for a third straight month, dipping to 13%.
Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization, acknowledged the gains — but quickly noted “13% unemployment is still 10 percentage points higher than where we were in December. And we’re still talking about 80,000 people who don’t have work.”
Now, with a second round of extensive business shutdown slated to continue into September, still more workers will be furloughed or lose jobs. It’s concerning that five months into the pandemic, the DLIR is still contending with understaffing and a sizable backlog: some 10,000 claims, most of them complex, were pending last week.
However, DLIR officials maintain they’re “cautiously optimistic” moving forward there will be fewer snags in processing claims due to computer fixes, including the standing up of a replicated database server that improves access times and allows claimants and employers greater access to the unemployment insurance (UI) computer program. Also, tools have been deployed to better shield the UI portal from malicious attacks and improve system efficiency.
In addition to upgrading technology, some of it antiquated, it’s encouraging that DLIR is looking to hire about 90 new staffers, with more than half of that group already at work. That count nearly doubles the staffing in place at the start of the pandemic, when the onslaught of new cases left many claimants waiting for months for financial relief.
Previously, the department trained hundreds of volunteers from other state agencies to help with the phones, but many of them have returned to their original jobs.
The DLIR is now seeking a new set of volunteers: lawyers, law school students and paralegals for assistance with a tall pile of particularly complicated claims that require investigation due to application mistakes and omissions as well as cases of suspected fraud.
The coming wave of filings is reason enough for Gov. David Ige, who has said little about DLIR’s current challenges, to publicly and candidly address what claimants can expect in coming weeks. People who don’t have work — and little money coming in — are eager for information as they plan for the next few months.
It’s more than likely that many households seeing job losses have been living paycheck-to-paycheck — and cannot afford a long wait for an unemployment check. Ige’s office should be double-checking the department’s readiness; and if it’s lacking, swiftly allocate relief funding, manpower and other resources.
The Aloha United Way’s 2020 ALICE Report, which tracks working residents who live just above of the poverty line but are unable to keep up with Hawaii’s cost of living, was built on data gathered before the coronavirus crisis. Back then, the economy was much stronger but there was also stagnant employment growth in most sectors except low-wage jobs.
The report found that while 9% of households statewide live in poverty, an estimated 33% fall into the Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed (ALICE) grouping. For now, unemployment benefits and federal COVID-19 relief funding have helped to keep these households afloat. Without ready access, though, many are at high risk of sinking into homelessness.
In the wake of Congress’ weekly supplemental $600 in jobless aid that expired in late July, lawmakers remain deadlocked on terms for another round. But President Donald Trump has signed an order that diverts funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to pay for additional weekly benefits worth $300.
Looking to tap into that, Hawaii’s DLIR is already building a new program within the unemployment computer system to implement and pay the new federal Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) grant, which the state applied for last week.
LWA recipients must be eligible for at least $100 in state weekly benefit and must certify that they are at least partially unemployed due to COVID-19 disruption. The money can supplement wage losses dating back to Aug. 1.
Since the initial massive surge of employment claims resulting from the virus outbreak, Hawaii’s labor department, like its counterpart agencies around the U.S., has struggled to keep up with customer service demand. From early March to late August, DLIR has managed to cut a lot of unemployment checks — $2.9 billion in benefits for nearly 170,000 claims, funded by the state and federal governments. Now’s the time to shore up the department’s readiness for the weeks ahead.
