HARRISBURG, Pa. — Unemployment claims in Pennsylvania rose nearly 71 percent in less than four days mainly due to the effects of COVID-19, according to data released by the commonwealth’s Department of Labor & Industry Thursday, March 26.

(Photo by Ron Wilshire)

Since Sunday, March 22, there had been 271,067 claims filed in Pennsylvania by Wednesday, March 25, and there had been 649,967 total claims filed between March 15 and March 25 after 378,900 people filed for unemployment the week of March 15.

Nationally, according to Reade Picket of Bloomberg, 3.28 million people filed for unemployment benefits between March 15 and March 21 with the 378,900 in Pennsylvania the most in the nation followed by an estimated 187,800 in Ohio, 186,800 in California, 129,300 in Michigan, and 114,700 in Illinois.

Graph courtesy of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry

The surge in Pennsylvania’s numbers since March 22 came after Governor Tom Wolf issued an order Thursday, March 19, for all non-life-sustaining businesses to remain closed.

The week prior to the March 15-21 surge, there had been 15,439 unemployment claims filed in Pennsylvania.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Pennsylvanians may be eligible for unemployment compensation benefits if their employer temporarily closes or goes out of business because of COVID-19, their employer reduces hours because of COVID-19, they have been told not to work because their employer believes they might get or spread COVID-19, or they have been told to quarantine or self-isolate, or live/work in a county under government-recommended mitigation efforts.

The Department of Labor & Industry said the fastest way to apply is online, but call-center hours and other vital information can also be found here. Pennsylvanians can learn all the Unemployment Compensation benefit requirements by visiting the self-service guide or by using the Unemployment Compensation Live Chat feature.