SALEM, Ore. – The number of people seeking unemployment benefits in Oregon rose dramatically in the past couple of days, according to new numbers released by the Oregon Employment Department.
Sunday, March 15th, the ODE recorded about 800 people seeking unemployment insurance benefits. By Tuesday, March 17th, that number had risen to 18,500.
The ODE said “To get benefits, workers must meet some requirements. In general, to claim and receive unemployment benefits for a week, workers must be available for work, able to work, and actively look for work they can do. Today the Employment Department enacted temporary rules to give more flexibility in providing unemployment benefits to COVID-19 affected workers.”
According to experts, it’s too early to determine just how much economic impact the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted.
For more information about unemployment benefits, visit http://www.oregon.gov/employ
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