What You Can Do If You Lost Your Job as a Result of the Coronavirus

*Update: April 17, 2020: Amazon has announced that they are hiring 75,000 more people than previously reported. Walmart has also announced they are adding 50,000 more jobs than previous reported. The numbers below have been updated to reflect this change.

Summary:

• If you think you may experience income loss during this time, there are steps you can take to prepare your finances accordingly.
• Companies that are hiring range from Walmart and GE Healthcare to CVS and Instacart.
• What you need to know if filing for unemployment.

Preparing for Loss of Income

If you are currently facing or anticipating a reduced income during this time, as a first step you should reach out to your lenders, providers, and landlord to pre-emptively discuss temporary payment relief options. To help those impacted financially by the coronavirus pandemic, many credit card issuers and lenders are coming together to provide late-payment forgiveness. Additionally, most utility companies and cable and internet companies have made pledges to waive late fees and suspend service disconnections during this time. This means that you have the option to delay paying these bills without a negative impact on your credit score or losing service, and allowing you to prioritize paying for necessities like groceries and pharmaceuticals. You must call first your lender or provider first to discuss an agreement. Skipping payments without doing so could result in a negative impact to your credit score.

You can also consider requesting an increase to your credit limit for existing cards, or applying for an “emergency credit” card if you need access to more credit. However, it’s important to make sure you’re still budgeting appropriately to avoid ending up further in debt. (If you’d like to see options for credit cards with 0% APR, you can learn more here.)

Companies Hiring Workers Now

While many businesses have had to shut down due to the coronavirus, others are hiring immediately. If you lost your job or your hours were scaled back as a result of the coronavirus, you may want to consider applying to one of these companies below. 

Grocers, Retail, and Pharmacies:

• Instacart is hiring 300,000 employees
• Walmart is looking to bring on 150,000 employees and is expediting its hiring process; while these are starting out as temporary jobs, many can turn into permanent positions. *On April 17 this was updated to 200,000 jobs.
• Amazon is hiring 100,000 employees. You can start within seven days, and no resumes or previous experience are required. *On April 17 this was updated to 175,000 jobs.
• Shipt is trying to hire 500 people in each metro area they serve
• CVS needs to hire 50,000
• Walgreens has 9,500 open positions 
• 7-Eleven wants to hire up to 20,000
• Albertsons, Safeway and Randalls, all under the Albertsons Companies umbrella, are hiring 30,000
• Kroger is hiring 10,000 and other regional supermarkets, such as Stop & Shop, also have positions to fill
• Dollar General is looking to fill 50,000 full and part-time positions
• Dollar Tree and Family Dollar are looking to fill 25,000 positions

Food Service and Delivery: 

• Pizza chains are also looking for workers. Pizza Hut wants to hire 30,000, Papa John’s is hiring 20,000 and Domino’s is hiring more than 10,000 workers. 
• PepsiCo is hiring 6,000 workers

Manufacturers:

• GE Healthcare and 3M are also hiring to help make necessary medical equipment and other in-demand products during this time. 

Separately, you may want to contact your local grocery stores, pharmacies, manufacturers and other companies, that are considered essential and are near your home, to see if they are hiring. Since this can change and result in other companies looking to hire, we suggest doing a search to see what other industries and businesses near you need additional workers. 

Several companies are also hiring employees to work from home. You can find some open positions here.

Platforms like Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and Snagajob make it easy to find open positions near you. Just pop in your location. Indeed even has the ability to search for immediate temporary jobs.

Some states, like New Jersey, are also providing lists of open positions.

News outlets are constantly updating their posts with new jobs in their area. Here is a great one for Southern California. 

Also, a temporary staffing agency might be just what you need to find work fast. Some of the biggest nationwide ones include Randstad, Adecco, Robert Half, Kelly Services, and Manpower.

Filing for Unemployment

Filing for unemployment can also help provide you with an interim income until you are able to return back to work. If you lost your job or if your hours have been reduced, visit your state’s department of labor (DOL) unemployment website. Every state has different requirements for how long you need to have been employed in order to qualify, how much money you will receive and how long you can receive the unemployment benefit. 

On the DOL website, select your state to find details on their  program, including additional flexibility offered to those impacted by coronavirus. Many states require you to file for unemployment benefits on the web. Some provide toll-free numbers or other ways to obtain assistance in filing.

Bills Signed into Law

The government is working to help provide relief to the many Americans currently facing unemployment. On March 18, President Trump signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a relief package that includes emergency paid leave.

These rules are constantly changing as the federal government considers relief bills and individual states are passing their changes, so we will continue to update this page as new rules are announced and companies announce additional hiring opportunities.

Please let us know if you have any other resources to include in the comments below. In the meantime, Credit Sesame can be a free valuable resource to help you monitor your finances during these uncertain times. And most importantly, please stay safe and healthy.

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Disclaimer: You can trust that we maintain strict editorial integrity in our writing and assessments; however, we receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners and get approved. This blog article is for informational purposes only and should not be relied on as financial advice. Although reasonable efforts have been made, we do not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented.