The latest unemployment statistics show a staggering loss of an estimated 20.5 million jobs in the month of April, with the unemployment rate skyrocketing to 14.7 percent nationally and the unemployment rate among Black Americans even higher at 16.7 percent.
If you’re someone who has worked a full-time job for most of your adult life, finding yourself unexpectedly unemployed for any reason can be tough, to say the least. In addition to the mental and emotional stress of not knowing where your next paycheck will come from, being completely clueless about what to expect when filing for unemployment adds yet another layer of looming frustration. Add to that the slow —or non-existent—responses from the federal government that many have reported since filling for unemployment recently and it’s not hard to find yourself in a space where resolve seems a distant possibility.
Luckily, there may be a few very key things you can actually do to help move the process along towards getting an answer.
Speaking with ESSENCE Senior Work & Money Editor Marquita Harris during our ESSENCE Wellness House virtual summit, Washington Post Personal Finance Columnist Michelle Singletary was candid, clear and honest about what to REALLY expect when filing unemployment for the first time in the wake of this global pandemic. Taking it a step further, Singletary also elaborated on how to manage those expectations by taking specific actions to help get better results.
Check out what she had to say in the video above and then head to essencestudios.com for more of everything you missed at the second edition of ESSENCE Wellness House, a a virtual summit brought to you by Walmart and AARP.