Mucarsel-Powell Publishes Outcomes Of Survey Revealing Overwhelming Dissatisfaction In Florida's Unemployment System

Press Release

Today, U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26) released results of a week-long survey conducted by her office querying South Floridians to provide details of their experience applying for benefits through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity's unemployment insurance (UI) system. The survey results made it clear that the UI system in place is dysfunctional and inadequate for those who have applied for unemployment benefits since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Specifically, 97.4% of 4,378 survey respondents stated that they were unhappy with the FDEO's handling of the sharp increase in unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic and nearly 90% listed their application experience as "very negative."

"The results of this survey simply confirmed what we already knew: Florida's unemployment system is a nightmare. Over a million Floridians have filed for unemployment since the onset of the pandemic and the majority are still not seeing benefits or getting answers. Many cannot so much as fill out a form because the website remains defective," said Mucarsel-Powell. "It has been two months, and time is up. Florida's leaders must be held accountable to take matters into their hands before Floridians who have lost their jobs by no fault of their own go hungry. It is the responsibility of the federal government to conduct necessary oversight and provide support when states can't do the job themselves. As Congress prepares to vote on another COVID-19 relief package, The Heroes Act, I look forward to advocating for this legislation that enhances unemployment benefits and supports UI systems across the country."

Highlights of the survey include:

· Nearly 90 percent of respondents said they had a "very negative" experience with the UI application process, while only 1 percent rated their experience as "very positive" or "somewhat positive."

· Over 90 percent of respondents said they encountered online portal crashes, freezing, and loading issues during the application process. Only 1.7 percent of respondents said they encountered no problems during the application process.

· Nearly 40 percent were asked about their job searches and asked to fill out a work requirement form while applying, despite a waiver of the work requirement restrictions until May 9.

· 97.4 percent of respondents said they were not happy with the FL DEO's current handling of the sharp increase in unemployment due to the pandemic.

Source