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109,263 Maryland citizens filed for unemployment last week, ending 3 week drop

Working BEACON system causes numbers to skyrocket
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Posted at 1:33 PM, May 07, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-07 13:37:33-04

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Unemployment insurance claims in Maryland skyrocketed last week, after repairs were made to the new online BEACON System, which had been preventing a large amount of citizens from filing.

On Thursday the Maryland Department of Labor said 109,263 citizens filed, which ends a three-week drop.

For the week ending on April 25 --37,225 people filed, which was down from 47,545 the week before, and 61,770 and 108,508 respectively, the prior two weeks.

Since March 1-- 496,817 people in the state have filed for unemployment. In the years 2018 and 2019 combined, only 446,883 people in Maryland filed.

RELATED: Questions about Maryland unemployment? We have answers

Maryland workers who have already filed and gone nearly two months without any income should receive unemployment benefits this week, according to the vendor tasked with creating the state's new claims website.

David Minkkinen, Senior Partner and Head of Sagitec’s Labor and Employment Practice, told WMAR-2 News Mallory Sofastaii in an exclusive interview on Wednesday that benefits for new claimants will be processed this Friday and they should see payments in their accounts by this weekend.

A full breakdown of last week's unemployment numbers can be read below.