Wisconsin DWD Receives 115,679 New Unemployment Applications, 1.5 Million Calls In A Week

WISCONSIN – In Wisconsin, the Department of Workforce Development has seen new applications for unemployment go from a steady 6,000 a week to 115,679 just last week.

The DWD said it received 1.5 million calls last week, which includes those who called multiple times.

The requirement that you must apply to several jobs every week to receive your unemployment check has been waived during the pandemic.

However, the Wisconsin law that mandates you won’t receive a check during your first week of filing for unemployment is still in effect.

“Governor Evers has requested that the legislature take action in order to change that law, so especially during this pandemic people would be able to receive benefits during that first week, but that has not happened yet,” Emily Savard, a program and policy analyst with the unemployment insurance division of the DWD, said.

The maximum amount you can receive from Wisconsin unemployment is a weekly check of $370. In Minnesota, the maximum is $740 a week.

The latest economic relief bill signed into law on the federal level, called the CARES Act, will give an extra $600 a week to those filing for unemployment.