16,791 File For Unemployment In Baltimore County Amid Coronavirus

BALTIMORE COUNTY, MD — Nearly 16,800 people in Baltimore County filed for unemployment last week, according to state unemployment data released Thursday morning. With nonessential businesses closed to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, more than 108,000 Marylanders filed unemployment claims for the week ending April 4. Baltimore County leads the state in the number of unemployment claims filed this week, with 16,791.

Some employers in Baltimore County announcing layoffs were New York & Company, which laid off 40 workers (17 at White Marsh Mall and 23 from Towson Town Center) and Fashion to Figure, which laid off 10 from its store in the Westview shopping center in Catonsville.

Last week, Cinemark in Towson announced it had laid off 146 workers as well. For the week ending March 28, there were 13,352 unemployment claims filed in Baltimore County.

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State officials acknowledge that because of the number of people contacting the labor office to file for unemployment, there have been issues with access.

Due to what the Maryland Department of Labor called an "unprecedented volume of users due to COVID-19," new measures are in place Thursday, April 9, allowing claimants to file online for weeks that they have missed.

More than 10 percent of workers in the United States have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus in the past three weeks, according to the Associated Press, which reported this was expected to continue, with nonessential businesses closed in 48 states.

In Baltimore County, more jobless claims are expected as well. Under Armour reported Friday that it was laying off 154 employees from its location in Sparrows Point, effective Sunday, April 12.

How To File For Unemployment

The Maryland Department of Labor has asked people to file claims online or through call centers according to this schedule:

• If your last name starts with A - F, file your claim Monday.
• If your last name starts with G - N, file your claim Tuesday.
• If your last name starts with O - Z, file your claim Wednesday.
• Claim filing is open to all last names by phone Thursday and Friday and online Thursday through Sunday.
• Filing later in the week will not delay your payments or affect the date of your claim.

Marylanders are encouraged to file their unemployment claims online. Use the online NetClaims application. It is available 24/7, but processing may be faster during non-peak hours, from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Phone lines are open at the claim call center 7 am. to 6 p.m Monday to Friday at 410-949-0022.

Claimants can also email questions to ui.inquiry@maryland.gov; however, people may not email their claims. These may only be processed by phone or through the online application.

Employers can email questions to dluiemployerassistance-labor@maryland.gov or call 410-767-2412.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

• Baltimore Co. Partners To Tackle Food Insecurity: Coronavirus
• U.S. Coronavirus: Unemployment Claims Show 1 In 10 Have Lost Jobs