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Credit Bytemarks / Flickr - http://j.mp/1SPGCl0 Michigans Unemployment Insurance Agency is warning the public that it is experiencing a new wave of imposter claims for federal Pandemic Unemployment Insurance.  Agency officials said the UIA has flagged for potential fraud about 100,000 claims that have been filed in Michigan in less than one week since April 2. Officials said criminal attempts to gain access to expanded benefits under the federal PUA program are occuring across the country, wit...

Credit Bytemarks / Flickr - http://j.mp/1SPGCl0 Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed COVID-19 relief bills into law in December, and one of those bills extended unemployment benefits through March 31. Now, those benefits are set to expire. For one, not being able to work due to COVID-19 will no longer be a valid reason to claim state unemployment benefits. Those who are eligible for federal unemployment benefits would still be able to collect it for COVID-related reasons. Under the old rules, peopl...

Michigan’s unemployment rate ticked up by eight-tenths of a percentage point last month to 6.9%. This is the first time since April the state has reported an increase in lost jobs. Michigan State University Professor Charles Ballard is an expert on the state’s economy. He says the numbers show COVID-19’s effect on jobs. “We had these horrendous job losses in April, and then fairly significant gains in May and June, but after that the gains in employment continued, but they got slower an...