To jobless, check <I>not</I> in the mail

These trying economic times have pushed many people to the edge of financial survival. For recently unemployed Jill Hoffman, relief has yet to come.

Hoffman, 58, who lives in West Ashley, was recently laid off as a receptionist at a North Charleston car dealership. She promptly filed for unemployment benefits through the state's Employment Security Commission, and she began applying for other jobs.

But six weeks have passed and her first unemployment check has yet to arrive, forcing her to live off high-interest credit cards. Her unemployment claim is stuck in a backlog of thousands that have caught the state employment agency that administers the benefits off-guard.

The long wait troubles Hoffman, who said she's concerned for her own financial security and for that of even poorer, recently unemployed workers who qualify for the benefits.

"It's a domino effect because a lot of people live paycheck to paycheck," she said. "When something trips this up, there's no cushion."

Staffers at the employment commission are now telling benefit applicants to expect a six- to eight-week wait before their first checks, which used to take less than two weeks to arrive.

More complicated cases could take even longer, said Allen Larson, the agency's deputy executive director of unemployment insurance.

Worsening economic conditions have led to fewer construction-industry jobs, a tightening in tourism spending and a string of layoffs at major manufacturers across the state. In August the state's unemployment rate hit 7.6 percent, the highest since 1993.

As a result, more South Carolina residents have filed for unemployment benefits, which allow them to collect money for up to 26 weeks. Those filings have more than doubled since last year.

"I don't want to make that as an excuse. We certainly understand that people need these funds, and we're absolutely sensitive to that issue," Larson said. "We're working overtime, Saturdays, Sundays — we're doing whatever we can to get these payments made quickly."

The commission has hired additional workers and reassigned others to help with the extra cases, Larson said.

It hasn't helped that commission workers have had to administer an extra 13 weeks of paychecks after President Bush extended the benefits this summer. South Carolina's fund doesn't pay for those extra weeks, but state workers have to keep track of those who collect them.

That additional work has added to the backlog, Larson said.

So many people are filing for and collecting benefits that the agency's unemployment-check fund might even run out of money by January, its executive director said last week.

The state fund, which has about $130 million in its reserves, has been paying out about $10 million a week in benefits. That's twice the typical payout, which could lead the fund to dry up by early next year.

Hoffman said she understands that she's one of many out-of-work residents who are requesting benefits. Still, she said the delays could lead to personal bankruptcies, foreclosures or other serious financial hardships.

"I don't know how the state can justify this," Hoffman said.

Joel Sawyer, spokesman for Gov. Mark Sanford, acknowledged that it is taking too long for the agency to send out the checks, but said the governor's office lacks the power to help. The Employment Security Commission is led by three commissioners appointed by the General Assembly, including former state lawmaker McKinley Washington Jr. of Ravenel.

"Hopefully when things settle down and the economic conditions change a bit, we'll be back on normal course," Washington said Thursday.

He added that the problem isn't systemic. Rather, it's a temporary but unfortunate result of the growing claims volume, he said.

Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, said he had heard from one constituent about the problem but didn't realize it was so widespread. He then criticized the commission for being unprepared to handle an increase that he called cyclical.

"I really can't accept excuses for the backlog. They just need to work harder," he said. "A lot of those people might not be able to survive if they have to wait two months."

Reach Katy Stech at kstech@postandcourier.com or 937-5549.