Editorial: More help needed for the jobless in Hawaii

The unemployment situation continues to look, well, terrible. On the national level, the jobless rate was 14% in April. Hawaii’s was 22%, one of the highest in the country. Since the COVID-19 lockdown commenced in March, more than 228,000 Hawaii residents filed unemployment insurance claims.

Chipping away at those numbers will be a long-term challenge. Some businesses are slowly reopening with reduced staffs, but many others will close permanently. The tourism industry, essentially shut down through July, will eventually resume, but as a shadow of its former robust self.

Experts predict a long, halting recovery nationwide, even as employers add jobs; Hawaii should expect a similar painful road ahead — assuming a second coronavirus spike doesn’t crash everything again.

So certainly it’s crucial that the state’s lifeline for Hawaii’s jobless doesn’t falter.

This week, the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it has improved the accuracy of its data and its ability to process claims. The agency reported that it has processed and paid out 88% of valid unemployment claims since the lockdown began — “incredible progress,” according to DLIR Deputy Director Anne Perreira-Eustaquio, who is running the agency while director Scott Murakami is on leave.

Perhaps. There’s no denying that DLIR (and other states) faced a monumental challenge when its ancient IT system collided with a massive increase in unemployment claims. Since the lockdown began, DLIR has been grappling with frustrated users, unreliable data and a balky system that should have scrapped years ago.

On top of all that, DLIR has been fending off attacks by sophisticated fraudsters, vandalism (a smashed glass door at DLIR offices) and death threats, including some directed at Murakami, who required a sheriff’s escort. The stress was so great that Gov. David Ige said this week he had ordered Murakami to take some time off.

There’s little doubt that many people continue to have problems, particularly if they make an error in filing; users have complained of the Byzantine process required to correct mistakes and get their check. And a jobless person without income can’t put money back into the economy, or pay the rent, or buy food.

All of which points to one inescapable conclusion: For the economic health of the state and its residents facing an uncertain COVID-19 future, DLIR needs a 21st-century IT system that can scale up or down quickly and efficiently. The governor and Legislature can’t wait any longer to get one up and running.