As Butler and surrounding counties saw jobless rates skyrocket between March and April — leading to a sharp increase in unemployment claims — officials warn that scam artists are trying to take advantage of the already stressed system.

In the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area, which includes Butler County, the unemployment rate was 16.8 percent in April, marking the highest rate for the area since January 1983, according to state statistics released Tuesday. That number was up 10.9 percentage points from March.

Butler County's unemployment rate for April was 15.7 percent, up from 5.4 percent in March. The April unemployment rate reflects the effects of business and school closures to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

Jordan Grady, of the Butler Chamber of Commerce, said one reason that the county's numbers are so high is because the county's top two industries are particularly vulnerable to coronavirus precautions.

“It's hit hospitality and tourism and manufacturing, obviously,” he said. “ Manufacturing had to be shut down for some time, unless they were able to get waivers or work on life-sustaining products like PPE.”

Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak echoed similar sentiments in a press briefing earlier this week.

“I'm hoping once we go green, that number will come down, but it will be a problem for restaurants (that) will only be able to operate at a certain capacity, and other businesses may not see a return to normal,” said Oleksiak, adding that state offices are doing their best to process all of the unemployment filings and have hired extra employees to get through the rush.

Since March 15, the state has paid more than $10.9 billion in state and federal unemployment compensation benefits, around $676 million of that from the state's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. “Once we can reopen, we'll be able to help the public more to apply for (unemployment compensation). Life, hopefully, will be a little easier,” said Susan Bowser, site administrator for PA CareerLink Butler County.

The office, which helps people apply for unemployment and assists with job searches, has been operating remotely since coronavirus precautions were enacted in mid-March, working virtually with applicants.

“It's just hard. A lot of people haven't been able to get unemployment they're supposed to get because the system is so overwhelmed,” Bowser said. “When I saw April numbers, I thought, 'Oh my goodness, that's a big amount.' Especially considering that in the end of February, beginning of March, it had been at a record low.”

So far, Bowser hasn't been told when the office will be allowed to reopen. In the meantime, staff are preparing by ordering personal protective equipment.

Scammers busy

With Butler and surrounding counties seeing jobless rates that doubled and even tripled between March and April, unemployment claims are on the rise, and scammers are trying to take advantage, according to the state.

Scammers have been flagged attempting to steal COVID-19 unemployment benefits using personal information from Pennsylvania residents. Oleksiak said the department's anti-fraud division discovered attempts to scam the state system.

In an effort to ensure unemployment benefits are getting to the right people and combat scammers, the department is mailing paper checks to recipients instead of making direct deposits into bank accounts.

“It's an ongoing criminal investigation,” Oleksiak said. “We aren't the only state dealing with this. Scammers (are) using stolen identities attached to bank accounts to try and siphon unemployment checks. None of our systems have been breached, so no worries.”

In the meantime, anyone who receives a paper benefits check in the mail but did not file for unemployment benefits in Pennsylvania should not cash the checks. According to Oleksiak, getting the unprompted check could be a sign someone is the victim of identity theft.

Grady is hopeful that once the county and surrounding areas go to green, the industries will pick back up.

“I'll be interested to see the same report two months from now as more and more places get open and more and more people get back to work,” Grady said. “And also once restrictions loosen, people will start to leisure travel again. We're doing our best.”

Grady said the chamber hosted a virtual job fair with 58 employers and 500 attendees, trying to match residents with organizations that are still hiring.