LANSING, Mich. — More people are collecting unemployment benefits now than any other time in the state's history, with 1.1 million claims approved in the last three weeks.
The director of Michigan's Unemployment Insurance Agency is asking for people to be patient.
"If you're eligible you're going to get paid," said Steve Gray, Unemployment Insurance Agency Director.
Gray said he is adding staff to help handle the demand right now.
He said only California and Pennsylvania have more people collecting unemployment.
"It's really hard to predict. There are still some employers who tried to keep people on," said Gray.
A lot of you have been sending messages and emails to FOX 47 explaining the problems you are having collecting your benefits,
including just getting through on the phones and online.
"There's just no way, even if we could put all 1200 people on the phones, we couldn't meet the demand and answered every call that came in," said Gray.
Gray said they are adding hundreds of new employees to help meet the demand, including about 100 from other state agencies.
Things got more confusing Monday when people who are self-employed could start filing for federal benefits.
However, those people still don't meet the criteria for state unemployment so their claims are being denied.
Gray said they should still reapply to get the new benefits.
"All they have to do is go in and complete the 10 minutes worth of additional information that you need to do.," said Gray.
One of the biggest issues we are hearing about is people having a non-monetary issue.
Gray said that is usually how someone left a job, such as someone being fired for misconduct.
He did say one issue could be verifying identities, but most of those problems were resolved this week.
"We're going to suspend that requirement during this time because obviously you can't come into the office," said Gray.
Gray said the UIA is prioritizing login issues to get most people their benefits as soon as possible.
That means if you send a message from your account, it could be a few days before you get an answer.
The state still recommends filers follow the schedule online and do it between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. when the system is less busy.
Gray said the best thing to do is save the phone lines for people who still aren't getting benefits.
Want to see more local news ? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Appleand Android
and
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
