The ‘black hole’ of unemployment benefits: Six months into the pandemic, some are still waiting for aid

The ‘black hole’ of unemployment benefits: Six months into the pandemic, some are still waiting for aid

Sam FornasieroSam FornasieroFor an instant, luck seemed to change for Sam Fornasiero.The 21-year-old's phone call was put on hold — a noteworthy improvement relative to the 2,000-plus prior attempts to reach New Jersey's unemployment bureau, by his estimation.The call went dead after a half hour of waiting.But Fornasiero has gotten good at waiting.Furloughed from his job at a film-production company in New Jersey in April, Fornasiero has waited more than five months for jobless benefits to arrive. He expects to be recalled to work at some point but doesn't know when. "Weeks turned into months," Fornasiero, a photographer by trade, said of the benefits delay. "I burned through what savings I had."Waiting gameFornasiero is one of thousands lost in the void of the U.S. unemployment system created by the coronavirus-fueled economic crisis.A deluge