New York is receiving a flood of new applications from people looking to collect unemployment insurance after the coronavirus caused many businesses to cut back or close indefinitely.
The flood of new applications has in some instances overwhelmed the state’s Department of Labor and its network, causing disruptions and outages, according to the New York Post. The New York Labor Department released a statement on Thursday blaming the delays on the coronavirus.
“We are experiencing an unprecedented increase in the volume of calls/traffic for UI claims. This surge has created intermittent interruptions in service,” the agency said. “We’re seeing over a 1,000% increase in claims in some areas across the state. To address this unprecedented increase, we have added server capacity and dedicated more than 700 staff members to address the influx.”
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New York has enacted some of the strictest protocols in the nation to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The state has over 7,100 confirmed cases of the virus, 38 deaths, and no recoveries, according to Johns Hopkins University.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ramped up quarantine measures in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. During a news conference Friday morning, the Democrat outlined two new measures demanding the closure of all nonessential businesses and a mandate for all citizens to stay indoors.
If the health crisis is not resolved in three months, roughly half of small businesses in the United States may fold. Ninety-six percent of small business owners say they have already felt the effects of the pandemic on their businesses, and just 13% are confident that they can withstand three months of depressed commerce, according to a Goldman Sachs survey released Thursday.
