Gov. Brian Kemp has opted to reinstate work requirements in order to receive unemployment benefits. | File Photo
Gov. Brian Kemp has opted to reinstate work requirements in order to receive unemployment benefits. | File Photo
While unemployment insurance fraud is running rife across the country, the state of Georgia has done a robust job on maintaining unemployment integrity, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Gov. Brian Kemp said he hopes to keep it that way, stating in May that the state would not continue to seek federal unemployment benefits, instead opting to restore work requirements for receiving benefits, The Center Square reported.
Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said that there were plenty of jobs for which unemployed individuals could apply.
“We have gained back 76% of the jobs lost in the pandemic and currently have over 190,000 job listings that need to be filled,” he told The Center Square.. “We are working with employers across the state to fill those positions because if they continue to go unfilled, it will stall out new job creation.”
Last year, law enforcement around the country reported 4.7 million cases of fraud when it came to unemployment benefits, which included identity theft and other scams, which surpassed 2019 statistics by an estimated 1.5 million reports, according to a report by MSN.
Americans lost $3.3 billion because of fraud in total last year, according to the report.
The leading cause of fraud, the report stated, were from individuals applying for government benefits with bogus claims, and in 2020 there were 400,000 instances, an almost 3,000 percent increase from the previous year..
Despite high rates of fraud around the nation, Georgia’s unemployment program integrity remained strong, according to the Department of Labor.
The state tied with Hawaii for the lowest improper payment rate for unemployment benefits of any state in the U.S., at 3.9%. The national average was far higher, at 9.17%.
The US Department of Labor report was based on a three-year period from July 1, 2017, to June 30, 2020.
The Payment Integrity Information Act requires state unemployment programs to report an annual improper payment rate below 10%, with Georgia falling well below the number.
The states with the three highest improper payment rates for unemployment benefits during this period were Michigan, North Carolina and Rhode Island.
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