By the numbers: Arizona's unemployment claims skyrocket since COVID-19

[ffr]

On Monday, Arizona’s Department of Economic Security, the agency responsible for administering unemployment insurance, reported that 88,592 people filed initial unemployment claims for the week that ended on March 28.

The week before, the first week of the closures, 29,333 people had filed for unemployment insurance.

Combined, 117,925 Arizonans have filed unemployment insurance claims since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. - ABC15

[Kumbricia]

1. UI extension from CARES Act

Does anyone have any info about eligibility for expanded UI and who can apply and how to apply? I've been unemployed since last year and didn't apply for UI and have been living off savings while applying for jobs, but now with the lockdown causing a hiring freeze, plus the huge rise in unemployment, my savings are running out and I'm seriously in need of UI to pay rent and bills. The pandemic came at the very worst time for me. Does anyone have info about whether the CARES Act can apply to me and, if I file, can I say my unemployment is due to COVID-19? Can I be considered self-employed or a freelancer?