With the U.S Office of Insular Affairs giving the CNMI more than $400,000 to begin the unemployment insurance program, the CNMI Department of Labor will be opening up new offices that will aid in providing unemployment benefits and insurance to residents.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a radio briefing last April 16, Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente said the $497,000 will be used as seed money so that the CNMI can create its own unemployment insurance program. Right now, the CNMI doesn\u2019t have one, which was blamed for causing a delay in the implementation of the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re very grateful to OIA for the $497,000 that the CNMI Department of Labor will be using to move forward with the implementation of our own unemployment insurance program,\u201d said Benavente.<\/p>\n
With many CNMI residents relying on federal funds such as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation\/the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Benavente projects that these residents won\u2019t have a stable income for a while, hence the need for the CNMI\u2019s own unemployment insurance program.<\/p>\n
Comparing the data between CNMI DOL\u2019s unemployment claims and the U.S Department of Labor\u2019s unemployment claims, Benavente projected that the CNMI\u2019s unemployment remains \u201cat the same level.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve been seeing almost every week about 200 applications, or documents being submitted for those applications. It’s a steady pace of unemployed applicants in the CNMI, so I don’t see a reduction in those numbers at this point,\u201d said Benavente.<\/p>\n
She said they are in communication with other territories, which also don\u2019t have unemployment insurance program, on what they are doing.<\/p>\n
According to Saipan Tribune archives, the overall goal of the OIA grant is to enhance the CNMI\u2019s management of Disaster Pandemic Assistance programs through the following objectives:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Fund critical technical training needed to fully understand the activities associated with implementing unemployment insurance programs in the CNMI:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Develop unemployment insurance programs in the CNMI;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Improve and expand programs to ensure the timeliness of disaster\/pandemic assistance; and<\/p>\n
\u2022 Establish accountability and financial management systems associated with implementing unemployment insurance programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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