Washington (CNN) - The number of furloughed federal government workers applying for unemployment assistance is continuing to rise as the partial government shutdown continues into its third week.
States with large numbers of federal employees are seeing a flood of such applications, and may see more if an agreement is not reached soon to reopen the government.
In Maryland alone, almost 20,000 new applications from furloughed federal workers have been submitted according to Maureen O'Connor, a spokeswoman for Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. That state usually receives between 2,500 and 3,500 claims per year from federal workers.
In neighboring Virginia, over 5,000 applications have come in from furloughed workers, most of them by mail. Virginia Employment Commission spokeswoman Joyce Fogg tells CNN the state will begin issuing payments on Wednesday.
And in the District of Columbia, birthplace of the shutdown, the Department of Employment Services has received over 15,000 requests for unemployment assistance in the past 15 days according to spokeswoman Najla Haywood. The city usually receives about 30,000 applications a year when the city's unemployment rate is between 8% and 9%.
Workers who receive unemployment benefits through their state may have to return the money if congress decides to pay them retroactively, as it has in previous shutdowns. The House has already passed a bill that would guarantee back pay to furloughed employees but the Senate does not plan to bring the measure up for a vote until after the shutdown ends.
Rules for filling a claim vary from state to state, and some workers may have to wait longer than others to receive payment.
Washington (CNN) - The number of furloughed federal government workers applying for unemployment assistance is continuing to rise as the partial government shutdown continues into its third week.
States with large numbers of federal employees are seeing a flood of such applications, and may see more if an agreement is not reached soon to reopen the government.
In Maryland alone, almost 20,000 new applications from furloughed federal workers have been submitted according to Maureen O'Connor, a spokeswoman for Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. That state usually receives between 2,500 and 3,500 claims per year from federal workers.
In neighboring Virginia, over 5,000 applications have come in from furloughed workers, most of them by mail. Virginia Employment Commission spokeswoman Joyce Fogg tells CNN the state will begin issuing payments on Wednesday.
And in the District of Columbia, birthplace of the shutdown, the Department of Employment Services has received over 15,000 requests for unemployment assistance in the past 15 days according to spokeswoman Najla Haywood. The city usually receives about 30,000 applications a year when the city's unemployment rate is between 8% and 9%.
Workers who receive unemployment benefits through their state may have to return the money if congress decides to pay them retroactively, as it has in previous shutdowns. The House has already passed a bill that would guarantee back pay to furloughed employees but the Senate does not plan to bring the measure up for a vote until after the shutdown ends.
Rules for filling a claim vary from state to state, and some workers may have to wait longer than others to receive payment.