A trade group that represents live event venues in Oregon estimates 78% of the 35,000 workers in its segment – 27,500 people – have been unable to work since March due to COVID-19 shutdowns are on the verge of losing their unemployment benefits. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregonians depending on federal unemployment benefits will not have a gap in coverage as some feared. Tuesday's new risk tiers moved five counties—Coos, Clatsop, Lincoln, Douglas, and Morrow—from Extreme to High Risk. Counties which remain in extreme risk include the state's most populous: Marion, Multnomah, Lane, Washington, and Clackamas. As many as 70,000 Oregonians are collecting PUA benefits, according to the OED. “To the point where I was looking through my house to have a yard sale,” Mink said. “I didn’t really get to do anything for my daughter’s birthday even,” Mink said. Oregon’s unemployment system never saw anything like the spike in claims it had in the first weeks of the pandemic; now it's on its second spike. The CARES Act is a new federal law, signed March 27, 2020. I have no savings left, whatsoever.”, Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. "Claimants do not need to call with questions about the federal benefit programs at this time. New risk levels will be assigned on January 15. The Oregon Employment Department had just over 61,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims left to process by Wednesday. Oregon … EB Overview. In November, leisure and hospitality added 300 new jobs compared to 3,300 in October. PUA provides temporary benefits to eligible individuals: Congress has argued along partisan lines for six months over the details of economic stimulus packages, pointing fingers and blaming each other for who is responsible for the perilous situations of people like Mink. "I honestly don’t even know how I’m going to pay my car insurance this month," Mink said. “Unfortunately, I don’t think there is any realistic chance that could be done without some gap in payments,” said David Gerstenfeld, acting director of the Oregon Employment Department. There was a problem saving your notification. But Oregon's unemployment rate dropped to 6.9% in October from a high of 14.2% in April. She'd already spent her $2,000 savings and was desperate to figure out how to pay the rent. You have permission to edit this article. Oregon restaurants are fighting the governor's health restrictions in court on the grounds they will bring "economic devastation" on the industry. This is after a claimant has exhausted both their regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits of 20 weeks and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits of 13 weeks. Ashton Mink has a hard time following the latest bickering in Congress over versions of a COVID-19 relief package. Unemployment:Oregon becomes final state to pay waiting week to hundreds of thousands of unemployed. “My daughter wants to do things and I can’t. Evictions:Compromise bill would extend eviction moratorium if special session called in December. In November, leisure and hospitality added 300 new jobs compared to 3,300 in October. Denied regular unemployment insurance in June, because he was a freelancer not usually eligible for jobless benefits, he reapplied under the new PUA program for self-employed workers. (The Center Square) — Oregonians on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance will still get their regular weekly benefits despite the program’s late extension, but there is still no telling when they might pocket the money. All three workplaces were forced to close multiple times or modify operations when they were open. Even if something is signed into law before Congress adjourns for Christmas, many Oregonians receiving unemployment benefits will experience a disruption. The 23-year-old from Aumsville was working three jobs to support herself and her daughter but is now unemployed and on the edge of a financial cliff. A year after her daughter was born, Mink says she put aside her ambitions of getting a culinary arts degree to go to work as a waitress at Neufeldt’s Restaurant in Aumsville. Dec 22, 2020. Rosales said the agency is in communication with the U.S. Department of Labor, which has not yet issued guidance on how to begin issuing PUA payments at the time of this writing. We will share new information about the benefits as soon as it emerges.". Jay Inslee on Sunday. “Fortunately, some of the proposals that we’ve seen recently do not have the most complex aspects. Initial unemployment claims in the state climbed to a record 62,788 in a week for regular unemployment the week of March 29 through April 4, and continued claims – the total number of people on regular unemployment – peaked at 309,543 the week of May 3 through 9, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Then in March, all three of her employers closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was extended through March 2021 late Sunday following President Trump's signature of a pandemic relief bill hours after the program expired on Saturday. If you were laid off, the state unemployment office would calculate whether you'd receive benefits for the $30,000 via PUA or $20,000 via unemployment insurance but not a … She looked into rental assistance programs but says she doesn't qualify because she hasn't fallen behind in rent. But there isn’t enough left over to buy Christmas presents for her daughter. The state dropped extended benefits to 13 weeks as of Dec. 12, so some people have already run out of unemployment. She returned to work for a couple months, but Neufeldt’s was forced to close again as of Nov. 18 due to an executive order from Brown. Even after a divorce about a year ago, she had managed to build up a small savings. Hundreds of thousands of workers won't be eligible to receive a $300 weekly boost to unemployment benefits provided by the Lost Wages Assistance program. However, the OED still has no hard timeline for when payments will go out. Businesses in 24 out of 36 Oregon counties identified for being at "Extreme Risk" for COVID-19 transmissions are enduring tight health restrictions as indoor dining remains banned and retailers are limited to 50% capacity. Unemployment was something Mink didn't think about until 2020. Oregon's statewide unemployment rate sat at 6% in November after adding 4,200 jobs to such sectors as transportation, health care, and manufacturing, the OED reports. Here are some basic steps anyone awaiting benefits can do. Mink was again out of work and onto unemployment for another week. Following a federal determination, Extended Benefits (EB) will be reduced from up to 20 weeks of benefits to up to 13 weeks, beginning Dec. 13, 2020. She’s like, ‘Mom, can I have a happy meal?’ I can’t even spend the $4 for a Happy Meal. The day after Christmas, about 70,000 Oregonians and 12 million people in the United States will lose unemployment benefits that have kept them barely financially solvent. “But these are jobs we can bring back if our workers can continue to receive unemployment benefits after the end of 2020 until the vaccine and our state’s leadership allows us to go back to work,” said Dwayne Thomas, President of Live Events Industry of Oregon. Oregon's COVID-19 case total reached 109,725 on Sunday while the death toll stands at 1,427 people, the Oregon Health Authority reported. Last month, Oregon launched a $35 million relief check program that was created to issue a one-time payment of $500 to 70,000 Oregonians still waiting for unemployment benefits. Tim Gruver is a politics and public policy reporter. She considers herself fortunate to have recently been approved for a $670 monthly pandemic daycare assistance program that will help her pay most of the cost for her daughter. But her bartending jobs didn't come back because bars in Oregon were forced to close at 10 p.m. Then in late June she got sick with coronavirus-type symptoms. We’re not seeing those most complicated versions being talked about now, but it certainly would take several weeks at a minimum if it’s not straightforward.”. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. The $188 weekly unemployment checks Mink is now receiving won’t cover her $1,200 monthly rent. Both the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and … Filing a New Application for PUA in Oregon PUA is a program under the pandemic ais relief and Economic Security or Cares Act of 2020 that provides unemployment assistance to workers who are not eligible for regular unemployment insurance compensation. He is a University of Washington alum and the recipient of the 2017 Pioneer News Award for Reporting. PUA recipients face a hard cutoff but the employment department said many Oregon workers on the 13-week extension may qualify for 20 weeks from a … Oregon's statewide unemployment rate sat at 6% in November after adding 4,200 jobs to such sectors as transportation, health care, and manufacturing, the OED reports. The backlog in unemployment claims is for self-employed and contract workers who applied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, covered workers who usually don’t qualify for jobless benefits because they’re considered independent contractors, not employees. His work has appeared in Politico, the Kitsap Daily News, and the Northwest Asian Weekly. The state takes part in a program that provides an additional 13 or 20 weeks of benefits in times of high unemployment. The Oregon Employment Department is pleased that Congress has passed an extension of federal benefit programs, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). Corrections & Clarifications: A prior version of this story incorrectly reported the amount Ashton Mink receives in pandemic childcare assistance. Neufeldt's reopened in May and Mink was glad to return to work. Mink was out of work for so much of this year, she burned through the 26 weeks of regular unemployment and now is onto Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation,a CARES Act program that provides 13 additional weeks of benefits to people who have exhausted regular unemployment. "We know Oregonians have many questions and want to know what the new relief package means for them," Rosales said. Now her $188 weekly unemployment benefits are about to run out. Contact him at, Oregon becomes final state to pay waiting week to hundreds of thousands of unemployed, Lawsuit against employment department alleges the state is farther behind than it reports, Some of the thousands stuck in Oregon's unemployment adjudication may not know it, Compromise bill would extend eviction moratorium if special session called in December, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. The reasons Oregon unemployment claims get held up vary considerably based on individual circumstances. As businesses reopened and rehired employees, the number of weekly claims in Oregon fell to a low of 4,408 initial claims the week of Sept. 27 through Oct. 3 and continued claims – those still drawing unemployment benefits – fell to 78,759 the week of Nov. 15 to 21. The EB program expired December 12, 2020. “I literally dumped every single change jar. ", Unemployment:Lawsuit against employment department alleges the state is farther behind than it reports. “Federal law requires us to turn on and turn off based on the unemployment rate,” Gerstenfeld said. Counties' placement in each tier are based on the two-week rate of cases per 100,000 residents. Especially people affected by COVID-19. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a program under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. “We’ve been getting as much work done to minimize that gap. "How are we supposed to live like this?". It makes it so more people can get unemployment benefits than ever before. Kate Brown lifted mandatory restrictions on religious gatherings following a U.S. Supreme Court verdict in November barring New York state from enforcing attendance limits in places of worship. Unemployment filers sue Oregon as wait for benefits drags Coronavirus There are still more than 55,000 Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claims waiting to be processed ... Lincoln County had Oregon's highest unemployment rate last month, at 17%. Normally people in Oregon would receive a maximum of 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. “If our employment rates drops below 6.5%, the three-month average unemployment rate, then, unfortunately, the extended benefit program goes away completely.”. Typical PUA payments range as high as $600 a week. PUA provides unemployment assistance to workers who are not eligible for regular Unemployment Insurance (UI) compensation. 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