OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Just a few weeks ago, the United States had the lowest unemployment rate in a decade, according to the White House. But in the past week alone, there have been 6.64 million new unemployment claims across the country. Maryland represents 84,000 of those.
"The Division of Employment Insurance in the State of Maryland typically, on an average week, takes about 2,000 claims," says Tiffany Robinson, Maryland's secretary of labor. "To give you a frame of reference."
But Laura Seiden isn’t counted in that number, because she, like many other Marylanders, is having trouble with the filing process.
"The phone is constantly busy. I called the main 800 number, the number for my county, there’s a toll-free number for my county," said Seiden. "My call log probably has over 150 attempts of just getting an actual call tone."
Seiden started a new job about a month ago. On Monday, she found out that her hours were being cut in half.
"I wouldn’t even think to do the unemployment route, but with signing this new lease based on what I was making there... I figured, any sort of assistance. I’m so nervous that I won’t be able to pay my bills," Seiden said.
Seiden recently moved from Roanoke back to Maryland to be closer to family.
"My mom is disabled, so I wanted to be closer to help her with little things and big things," she said.
That move back home has made filing for unemployment benefits tricky for Seiden.
According to Maryland’s unemployment law, if you lived outside of Maryland within the past six months you cannot apply online – you have to call.
Seiden lived and worked in Virgina until December 2019.
"I kept calling and calling and then I talked to my mom and she said,'Why don’t you apply in Virginia?' because my income was in Virginia up until December," says Seiden.
WUSA9 reached out to Maryland’s Secretary of Labor Tiffany Robinson to try and get Seiden some help. And it turns out, her problem is one that many face in Maryland.
"We’re getting a lot of those," Robinson said. "We’re unfortunately having a lot of people who have worked in different states and they don’t know what to do, so they’re trying to file in all of the states."
If, like Seiden, you’ve moved into Maryland recently – don’t try to file in multiple states. Instead, Robinson says, a phone call is the best way to file your claim, because they’ve been having some issues with filing this type of claim online.
"While we’re trying to get everyone to use the online application, the drop down for work from other states to Maryland causes some difficulty, so for people with out-of-state work, it really is better to talk to a claimant directly," Robinson said.
If you need to file for unemployment in Maryland, the numbers to call are 410-949-0022 or 1-800-827-4839. If you’ve recently moved into the state but still need to file, send an email to ui.inquiry@maryland.gov and let them know the best time to call you back.