State officials plan on eventually calculating workers’ correct benefit amounts and backpaying them, but it’s unclear how many states have begun this process. The Labor Department agreed to clarify this data in future releases, the GAO said (DOL officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment). That was the total number of unemployed people nationwide in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Members of Congress are discussing a new stimulus package that could include extended unemployment benefits, but negotiations are deadlocked. Further ReadingLabor Department Published ‘Flawed Estimates’ of Weekly Jobless Claims, Watchdog Says (Wall Street Journal)12 million Americans set to lose unemployment benefits by year’s end (CNBC)

Source: Forbes November 30, 2020 18:28 UTC