The backlog of regular unemployment claims is cleared.
Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek is proud of the agency. Since March 15, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, DWD has processed nearly 8.8 million weekly claims compared to the 7.2 million claims handled from 2016 to 2019. That’s more than four years’ worth of claims in nine months.
As of September, nearly 100,000 Wisconsinites had pending unemployment claims. Nearly 1,300 people were either hired, contracted or reassigned to the department to help alleviate the backlog.


