DETROIT – More than 1 million Michigan residents have filed for unemployment since the coronavirus outbreak began.
MORE: Michigan unemployment help and resources -- updated list
The number of unemployed people in Michigan is worst than during the 2009 recession.
Finish union carpenter Dale Wells has been off the job since early March and he worries.
“We get medical based on how many hours a month we work," Wells said. "Since I don’t work, I don’t have medical. So I’m a little worried after April I won’t have any medical.”
That’s $550 he won’t have even though he is getting unemployment.
These are the kinds of struggles Michigan vast unemployed face.
The new numbers released Thursday said 220,000 Michiganders filed for unemployment last week, inundating the system’s website. The unemployment rate is something not seen in generations.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer knows this is unsustainable and offered assurance for those struggling with the balky computer system. She said anyone who is eligible is going to receive unemployment.
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Whitmer said she’s working on when the stay-at-home order can be lifted. Thursday afternoon, she said she is eyeing a slow ramp up on May 1, starting with businesses that can safely do so.
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