With vaccines now readily available and COVID-19 numbers dropping, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry is saying it will soon be time for those on unemployment to start looking for work.

Racial inequities in the unemployment count persist, according to the United States Department of Labor’s April Jobs Report.  

Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry said it is transitioning to a new, faster and easier to use unemployment benefits system. But, getting rid of its outdated 40-year-old system may cause some headaches in the meantime as the department undertakes the massive project.

The state Department of Labor & Industry reported that in February the unemployment rate remained unchanged from the month before at 7.3%

The state Department of Labor & Industry reported that Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate rose 0.2 percentage points from December to 7.3 percent in January.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.7% in December, down 0.1 percentage points from November, and matching the national rate.

Pennsylvania has regained more than half of the jobs lost in March and April because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The department said that starting Nov. 7, it will be temporarily expanding people’s ability to backdate unemployment compensation claims from the normal six weeks to up to 52 weeks.

Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped 2.3 percentage points to 8.1% in September as the state tries to recover from the COVID-19 shutdown.

New identity verification procedures are now in effect for those filing claims with the Pennsylvania Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.