MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development says it has cleared its backlog of regular unemployment insurance claims.
Over the last several months, DWD expanded its staff by 1,300 individuals to help process the large influx of claims due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since March 15, 2020, DWD has processed nearly 8.8 million weekly claims compared to the 7.2 million claims handled from 2016 to 2019—more than four years’ worth of claims in nine months.
As of September 2020, nearly 100,000 Wisconsinites had pending UI claims.
“Since the start of the pandemic, our top priority at DWD has been ensuring that all eligible unemployment claims in Wisconsin are paid as quickly as possible,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “Today, I am proud to say we have reached our goal to clear the backlog of claims. The tireless work of DWD staff has made it possible for UI to resume its seasonal level of timeliness in January. I look forward to implementing further enhancements to our UI processes to continue to improve services to Wisconsinites who are out of work through no fault of their own.”
As of December 26, 2020, approximately 590,095 claimants in Wisconsin have been paid over $4.68 billion in UI benefits since the beginning of the pandemic.
