Money Talks

Guests: Jackie Turner, Executive Director and Timothy Rush, Director of Unemployment Insurance from Mississippi Department of Employment Security mdes.ms.gov

As soon as you become unemployed, you may file a claim for unemployment insurance benefits online or by calling 601-855-3133 or 1-888-844-3577. MDES takes phone claims Monday to Friday 7am to 7pm. You can file claims online anytime on their website.

You should be prepared to provide the following information:

1. Your Social Security number,
2. Your complete mailing address and phone number,
3. The names, addresses, and phone numbers for all your employers for the last eighteen (18) months,
4. The dates you worked and the reason you left each employer.
5. Alien Registration number or Visa number, if you are not a U.S. Citizen.

ReSkillMS is a new program designed to help individuals adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic find jobs with better wages and also help support employers who want to hire and train new employees on the job. ReSkillMS.com

The “Mississippi Library Association’s Map of Free Wi-Fi Hotspots Across the State”.  website

MDES went from processing 800 claims per week to 5,000 per week to 45,000 claims per week.

Topics discussed:

• phishing scams
• financial market behavior
• national unemployment going down
• MDES's computer system
• self employed wages
• Pandemic Employment Assistance
• Lost Wages Assistance - distribution is on hold now. FEMA funds being used for other emergencies
• appeals process
• certification
• furloughed