New York has applied for a $4 billion, no interest loan from the federal government in hopes of shoring up its unemployment trust fund, which has seen a record surge of claims filed by workers forced out of their jobs by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fund had a balance of about $2.7 billion at the end of 2019, which is less than half of the minimum necessary to remain solvent during a recession, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
About 1.1 million New Yorkers have filed unemployment claims and the state says it has paid out $2.2 billion in benefits thus far, but the process has been rocky and fraught with frustration and delays due to the unprecedented surge of people seeking assistance.
The state Department of Labor says it has streamlined the application process and reduced the backlog significantly. It is still working to improve the process.