At Tuesday evening’s Woodstock Selectboard meeting, Rep. Alison Clarkson shared some Vermont labor statistics about the employment situation pre-Irene flooding and post-Irene flooding:
In August, there were just 6 individuals in Woodstock who had filed and were receiving Unemployment Insurance from the State of Vermont.
In September, the numbers jumped to 57 people who were out of work and receiving the benefits that are meant to help keep a local workforce going until jobs come back.
For the entire Windsor County Supervisory Union, the numbers tell a similar story for pre-flooding and post-flooding:
In August, there were just 21 people receiving unemployment benefits.
In September, the number has jumped to 294 people out-of-work in the WCSU area.
Rep. Clarkson says her Vermont labor statistics indicate a good number of those jobs were lost in Killington and Bridgewater.
Town Manager Phil Swanson also shared some statistics of his own. To date, as a result of flood damage wreaked by Tropical Storm Irene, the Town of Woodstock currently has 125 individual projects that require stand-alone work. The file cabinet has gotten stuffed!
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 
Posted by Melissa Strayton on October 5, 2011 at 10:08
Ah! And this doesn’t tell the whole story. Part-timers in particular who did not meet the quarterly income thresholds, DID NOT qualify for unempyment benefits and have had no income since the storm….
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Posted by Julia Carlisle on October 5, 2011 at 16:16
Yup, Melissa, this is probabaly ALWAYS an untold story. The number of Vermonters who hold many part-time jobs yet “make too much” but also “make too little” to get unemployment insurance. Thanks for pointing that out. WEB
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Posted by Diana Brown on October 5, 2011 at 10:22
I am surprised the numbers are not higher. I feel for each and every one of them, and hope that the state and the Feds are helping. Did I see a post on Woodstock Vt Flood Response with a reminder about a Friday filing date for certain benefits? I certainly hope that folks can get back to work at the same miraculous rate that Vtrans and town road crews rebuilt bridges and roads.
All the more reason to spend what dollars we do have as locally as possible and to continue to network and help out in whatever way possible.
Ok, now my ignorance -what is stand -alone work?
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Posted by Julia Carlisle on October 5, 2011 at 16:14
Diana,
Yes, business deadline is end of the week for FEMA filings. Individual deadline isn’t ’til the end of the month.
Oh, I see you’re talking about the Disaster UI claims…Correct end of week. However, regular unemployment insurance should continue to be made available — sometimes dependent on employers having “officially” given a lay-off notice.
Jargon. Stand-alone: Has its own file. WEB
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