On Friday March 12, the Western Maryland Delegation discussed the unemployment and impact of COVID-19 in the region. Unemployment claims have skyrocketed since the pandemic began in 2020. With that there has been over $10.3 billion given out in both state and federal benefits. Unfortunately, there has been some fraudsters including out-of-state claims and in-state claims. Luckily these are being investigated and have/are being rectified. In the slides below there is much more detailed look at what our region has faced and will continue to do going forward.