With almost 40,000 residents expected to apply, the Guam Department of Labor hopes to start its pandemic unemployment assistance program by mid-May.
GDOL Director David Dell’Isola says that the weekly unemployment benefit will be $945 and that the agency is waiting for guidance from the federal government before they can proceed with the program.
“What we haven’t been able to do — and we’ve been told that it’ll be alright — we’re going to submit a budget very shortly of the total amount needed to the program and for us to stand up the program and run it until December. What we need to get for the FPUC is that they haven’t signed an agreement yet. They haven’t produced it yet,” Dell’Isola said.
As Guam waits along with the rest of the states and territories, Dell’Isola says that if the federal government sends its resources in a timely manner, the island may expect the program to run in a few weeks.
“It’ll be running next month, sometime in May. There are too many variables that are out of my control, but if it’s mid-May and those variables are delivered according to what they’ve promised, that’s a good number to shoot for as a goal,” Dell’Isola said.
The Guam DOL is currently working on an online module for businesses to input changes in employee status. The agency is reminding the public that only employers and business owners need to register on HIREGUAM.COM.
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