Only about 1,500 furloughed federal workers in Hawaii had applied for unemployment benefits through Thursday, but the number was increasing by the day in the government shutdown and state agencies have mobilized to try to determine its wider impacts.
The pace of unemployment applications "significantly increased" Friday, "and we’re assuming that as the days go by, it’s going to increase even further," said Bill Kunstman, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
Friday marked the fourth day of the shutdown.
Applying for unemployment never even dawned on Deanna Nieves, a furloughed administrative officer at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, but she said Friday she’s going to think about it.
In the meantime she’s hoping to work at Macy’s and has picked up some dog-walking jobs.
"But it’s still not going to make up for (the income loss)," the 31-year-old said. "I have two properties on the mainland that I still have to pay a mortgage for, even though they are rented."
Nieves has to pay rent here, and she worries about one of her mainland renters, who also is a furloughed federal worker.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said previously that 25,000 federal workers could be laid off in Hawaii as a result of the government shutdown.
The state estimates there are some 25,500 defense civilian federal employees here and about 9,000 nondefense employees — some of whom have been exempted from the furloughs.
Among those furloughed are about 3,000 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers, or about two-thirds of the civilian workforce. Work on three nuclear submarines in dry dock has come to a standstill.
The Governor’s Office held an emergency Cabinet meeting Thursday to look at the impacts of the furloughs and funding cutoff for a variety of programs.
"It is going to take some time to fully understand the true fiscal and social impact on our state," acting Gov. Shan Tsutsui said Friday. Gov. Neil Abercrombie is on vacation in Paris.
"Obviously, every day that this continues creates additional concerns for us, not just short-term, but long-term as well," Tsutsui said. "So we’re hopeful that they can come to a resolution sooner than later."
The federal government directly and indirectly helps finance a range of state programs, from Medicaid and welfare to rental assistance and subsidized school lunches. The state has temporarily chosen to cover the costs so as not to interrupt public services, but is concerned about reimbursement from the federal government once the shutdown ends.
"There hasn’t been any reduction in state programs that are federally funded. But as this shutdown becomes longer, or is longer in duration, we don’t know if the state can afford to be on that same path and strategy," said Kalbert Young, the state’s budget director.
"So this is a week-to-week assessment," he said. "Every day that the state provides programs that are actually federally funded but we’re providing it with state resources, we are taking the risk of increasing our overall state costs. So there could be a budgetary impact."
Federal employees who are unemployed due to the government shutdown can apply for unemployment insurance benefits.
"We empathize with federal workers who are unable to work at this time through no fault of their own, especially given the uncertainty of the duration of the shutdown," said state Labor Director Dwight Takamine.
If Congress ultimately acts to retroactively pay federal employees who were furloughed, those employees will likely be required to reimburse the state for benefits received, officials said.
The benefits come out of the state’s unemployment trust fund, which has about $257 million, Kunstman said.
"The unemployment trust fund itself is relatively healthy," he said.
The Labor Department recommends that individuals applying for unemployment benefits do so online to avoid long wait times on the telephone or at local offices.
To apply for benefits online, visit uiclaims.hawaii. gov from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and holidays. Applicants also can call Hawaii Tele-Claim at 643-5555 from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday.
The Labor Department has created a page on its website where furloughed workers can go for more information. The website address is labor.hawaii.gov/ui/ federal-shutdown-unemployment-benefits-for-furloughed-workers.
