PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona plans to have a new system that will begin working in mid-May to handle the surge of unemployment benefit claims resulting from the coronavirus outbreak’s partial shutdown of the state’s economy, including claimants not previously eligible.
The state Department of Economic Security said Friday it will use a private vendor, Geographic Solutions Inc., to develop the system. The department says the new system will begin processing applications the week of May 12, resulting in payment for eligible claimants that week.
Layoffs as parts of the economy collapsed or were shut down clogged the state’s existing benefits system. Nearly 420,000 Arizonans have filed for unemployment benefits in the past month.