The COVID-19 pandemic, and the closure of businesses because of it, has resulted in more Texans applying for unemployment benefits this month during the whole of 2019.
During the week that ended on March 7, 65 Hays County residents had filed an unemployment claim. Less than a month later, by April 4, that number had skyrocketed to 2,475.
That increase is greater than any interstate corridor county except Travis County, where the number of claims grew from 420 to 13,507 during the same time period, and Williamson County, which saw claims increase from 203 to 5,750.
In Comal County, the number of claims filed grew from 93 to 1,410.
Statewide, the retail trade industry was the hardest hit with 49,236 claims, followed by accommodations and food service with 44,415 and health care and social assistance with 36,581. Least affected were utilities with 129 claims and agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting with 196.
The spread of COVID-19 has caused restaurants, hotels, bars and other establishments deemed “unessential”
to close, while some that have remained open have furloughed or laid-off workers. Although some retail outlets may reopen this week under a loosening of pandemic rules issued by Gov. Greg Abbott April 17, it was unclear by Hays Free Press deadline what impact that would have on the rate of unemployment claims.
In a survey recently circulated by county chambers of commerce, many businesses said they could sustain operation for only a “few weeks” under current conditions.
The Texas Workforce Commission, the state agency tasked with overseeing and providing workforce development services to employers and job seekers, has reported being inundated with “long wait times, overwhelmed call centers and technical issues with the Unemployment Benefit Services portal.”
Due to the unprecedented volume of unemployment claims, TWC is recommending those seeking to file a claim stagger their online visits and calls predicated on their area code. People in the 512 area code are encouraged
to call Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 5 p.m.
Those seeking to apply for unemployment benefits will need to submit an application. In order to apply you will need:
• Last employer’s business name and address
• First and last dates (month, day and year) you worked
for your last employer
• Number of hours worked and pay rate if you worked this
week (including Sunday)
• Information related to your normal wage
• Alien Registration Number (if not a U.S. citizen or national)
