The New Jersey Department of Labor announced that they had received over 13,500 new unemployment benefits applications last week, an 11% uptick from the previous week, marking the first rise in unemployment applications in 6 weeks. 

The rise in new claims is partly due to bus driver and foodservice layoffs because of the Thanksgiving holiday making their services unneccesary. Still, the numbers are concerning, and underscore the need for more federal help to help families through the crisis.

“This pandemic isn’t done with us yet,” said DOL Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “As we see by the numbers of new and continuing claims, workers are still struggling under the weight of layoffs and reductions in hours, as well as the difficulty of finding a new job during COVID.”

More concerning is that unemployment benefits for nearly 500,000 New Jerseyans will expire at the end of December if Congress fails to renew or extend them. But Republicans and Democrats in Congress are still bickering – as they have been for months – over the details of another potential stimulus package, with Congressional leaders at an impasse over how best to proceed.

A recent bipartisan proposal for a $908 billion federal stimulus has begun to receive some support in the halls of power, but Congress isn’t yet at the point of passing such a bill. For the sake of millions of Americans and hundreds of thousands of struggling New Jersey families, it is hoped that a deal is hammered out sooner than later.