Pennsylvania’s Labor and Industry Department continues to deal with unemployment claims from the coronavirus pandemic.
The department has received about 2.5 million claims since March 15th, which has resulted in almost $14 billion paid out in benefits.
Secretary of Labor and Industry Jerry Oleksiak says the department continues to monitor the state’s unemployment trust fund.
“Obviously it’s dwindling. We still have dollars there but we do have an arrangement with the federal Department of Labor for interest free loans that we can obtain within a matter of days,” Oleksiak said. “There will be no hiccups along the way for those people receiving benefits.”
To help address the increase in claims, staffing at the department has increased nearly 80 percent since mid-March.