States are still working through major backlog of clams for unemployment insurance after systems across the country were flooded amid the global pandemic's economic chaos, according to the Washington Post.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the millions upon millions who have lost their jobs have found themselves challenged by state unemployment systems that were not prepared to handle the sudden influx of claimants, especially in light of the CARES Act, which expanded the pool of people eligible for benefits. Part of the issue was technical, as computer systems were overwhelmed by so many being on the sites at once, while another part was bureaucratic, with programs state programs unable to account for federal changes (e.g. freelancers being unable to apply for benefits because the form asks for W-2 information). On top of this, however, is the fact that state unemployment offices simply were not built to deal with millions of people at a time, especially given the hurdles placed in the process meant to discourage fraud.

Due to these factors, the Post said, many people have been waiting months to get unemployment benefits, with the risk that the federal expanded benefits will expire before their applications have even been processed. As of now, said the Washington Post, about 18.8 million out of 33 million outstanding claims, 57 percent, have been paid nationwide. While this is certainly an improvement over April's 47 percent and March's 14 percent, it still means that nearly half of people who've filed for claims have yet to see any money at all.

While states are doing what they can do reduce their backlog, these efforts are taking place at a time when infections, which had previously been going down, are spiking again in certain areas, leading to concerns that the number of cases yet to be processed will grow as employment once more takes a hit in these areas. California, for example, is trying to reduce a backlog of nearly 2 million old claims while, at the same time, more recently unemployed people encounter the same problems and frustrations that led to the backlog in the first place.

Different states are trying different measures in response. Kentucky, for instance, hired Big Four firm Ernst & Young to help review its backlog of claims. Wisconsin Republicans, meanwhile, have pitched the idea of loans in lieu of benefits as people wait for their applications to be processed. Oregon has opted just to hire more staff and set weekly processing goals (which it has apparently failed on more than once occasion).