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About 17 million people have applied for unemployment benefits in the U.S. in recent weeks, but the money still isn't flowing to many people who desperately need it. NPR's Chris Arnold reports.
CHRIS ARNOLD, BYLINE: A lot of people have been out of a job for about a month now, and that's a long time to not be making any money in the midst of this pandemic.
NICOLENA LOSHONKOHL: It's really intense, and it's really frightening. So honestly, I just feel frightened.
ARNOLD: Nicolena Loshonkohl is a hairstylist we've been checking in with in Roanoke, Va. She's a single mom with a 2-year-old daughter. She was a regular employee at her salon, so it was simple to file for unemployment online. And she started to get payments but, so far, only $340 a week. And that doesn't cover her rent, her health insurance, food.
LOSHONKOHL: To be blunt, it's just not enough. I mean, it's not nothing, but it's not enough.
ARNOLD: That's because, so far, Loshonkohl's only getting her state's benefits, but everyone receiving unemployment is supposed to get an additional $600 a week from the federal government's big rescue package. There have been delays, though, like integrating those extra payments into the state's often antiquated systems, so many people are not getting that extra money yet. And the state benefits are based on income, so some people are getting less than Loshonkohl.
LOSHONKOHL: I have a friend who's a waitress, and she got unemployment. And her unemployment is $80 a week, and she has a son. What is she supposed to do with that? You know, so I'm not only thinking about myself, but I'm thinking about, like, how many people are going to suffer.
ARNOLD: The crisis right now shines a light on the stark differences between states. When it comes to unemployment benefits, states set the benefit amounts, and some just do not give people very much money.
Andrew Stettner is a fellow with the nonpartisan think tank The Century Foundation.
ANDREW STETTNER: So Arizona - the maximum weekly unemployment benefit is $240 per week, while in Massachusetts, the average is $550 per week. So there's a huge disparity.
ARNOLD: Stettner says that's, in part, why Congress voted to give people the extra $600 a week, so everybody would have enough money to live on. The good news, he says, is if you've managed to get your state benefits, in most cases, that federal money is coming very soon. He says if you look at the states where most workers live...
STETTNER: Eleven of those 13 states have announced that they're going to get that $600 out to claimants by this week.
ARNOLD: Still, there's a big backlog. Stettner says millions of people are still waiting to get any money. And if there's any complication where an actual person needs to review the case, he says that could take a couple of months. Now, when people do get payments, they should be retroactive.
STETTNER: So, you know, they might get a $7,000 check once their benefits are processed. But that's cold comfort to, you know, people who are trying to make their rent checks, you know, their car payments.
ARNOLD: Also, states are still scrambling to figure out how to process the freelancers and gig workers who aren't normally eligible but who are now under the federal rescue effort. In the meantime, those one-time $1,200 stimulus payments that go to almost everybody, they'll be crucial to help many out-of-work people get by.
Nicolena Loshonkohl is still waiting for that money, too. But she got some other help since we spoke to her in our last story.
LOSHONKOHL: Some of my friends heard it or read it, and they started reaching out to ask me what I needed and started a fundraiser to help me.
ARNOLD: They sent her gift cards for grocery stores, Visa gift cards. It added up to more than $2,000.
LOSHONKOHL: Yeah, I started crying a lot. And I felt really relieved because then I can ride it out until June.
ARNOLD: So if there are more delays, she can take care of her toddler and pay her health insurance and her rent.
Chris Arnold, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
