Many in region make first time unemployment claims in March

Dexter resident Caroline Dunivan, who said she has always worked multiple jobs to support her family, applied for unemployment benefits for the first time March 18, a day after she was laid off by the Dexter R-XI School District. She worked as a baker in the Southwest Elementary cafeteria.

Stay-at-home orders issued by the state of Missouri and many area counties, as well as the shutdown of all schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, have created first-time experiences for many workers.

With the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate jumping from 3.5% in February to 4.5% in March, many workers are facing the need for unemployment benefits for the first time.

“I was a little stressed,” said Dunivan, a single mother of five children ages 4 to 14 said of her thoughts after the layoff. “We just moved into a new house (and) I thought I may have to tell by landlord I don’t have the full rent.

“I just had faith and believed that everything would work out. I’d try for unemployment. All I could do was hope for the best.”

The unemployment rate jumped by 1.3% from March 2019 to March 2020, according to the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center.

The national unemployment rate for March 2020 was 4.4%, up from 3.5% in February and 3.6% in March 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the number of unemployed is expected to be reflected more accurately in the April jobs report because the state’s stay-at-home order did not go into effect until April 6.

While Dunivan still has her part-time job of taking care of her parents through Bootheel Area Independent Living of Kennett, she only works about 14 hours a week.

Dunivan could have applied for unemployment in the past. She said that she would have qualified for benefits during the Christmas and summer breaks at school. Instead of filing, she got a part-time summer job instead.

However, circumstances are different now.

“I wasn’t sure how long we would be out,” she said. “I didn’t know how long other places would be open. I could go to (businesses) that were open, but there probably wouldn’t be a lot of hours, and I would be taking hours from someone else.”

She said the application for unemployment was not difficult.

“I didn’t have any problems,” she said. “(The unemployment benefit) helps, but it’s nothing close to what I make at school. It’s a bit of a challenge to make things work.”

Dunivan has to keep a close eye on her budget.

“It makes things tighter than normal,” Dunivan said. “I have to tell my kids why we can’t do everything we did before. It was hard for them to understand that.

“Most everybody’s been understanding if I don’t have the full amount or (am) a little late on a bill.”

She applied for benefits initially over the phone.

“I explained to the lady my situation, and she said ‘OK’ and took my information and got me started,” Dunivan said. “She said, ‘we’ll be sending papers out and you’ll need to reapply weekly.’ ”

According to the Missouri Department of Labor website (labor.mo.gov), you need the following information to file for unemployment:

• Social security number

• Total earnings for the week — Sunday through Saturday — before taxes and deductions including any vacation/holiday pay

• Name, address and dates of past employment for the past 18 months

• Banking information including routing and account numbers

She received her first payment through direct deposit in less than two weeks. The deposit included the amount she was owed dating back to the day she filed.

In addition to her state unemployment benefits, she received her first $600 weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PFUC) payment last week. The check was backdated to March 29.

The FPUC is part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27.

The benefit will run through the week ending July 25.

She reapplies for benefits each week at uinteract.labor.mo.gov.

“It’s an easy process,” Dunivan said. “You can see what you qualified for and print what you’ve got from unemployment. Just go there and click. They ask you basic questions.”

Labor.mo.gov tells people seeking benefits online to “have your Social Security Number, your Personal Identification Number (PIN), your total earnings before deductions and any vacation/holiday pay information ready.”

Unlike traditional unemployment, recipients aren’t required to search for a job because of the coronavirus, and President Trump’s $2 trillion coronavirus relief package allows for an extension of state benefits by 13 weeks. In Missouri, benefits last up to 20 weeks, according to labor.mo.gov.