A month ago, Cullman County could brag of having the second lowest unemployment rate in the state, at 2.2 percent. Three weeks ago, only 25 Cullman residents applied for unemployment benefits. This week, 1,406 filed unemployment claims. They are among the more than 80,000 Alabamians who filed for unemployment in the past week.

Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs said he hopes that with people following social distancing guidelines, the COVID-19 crisis will end and people can get back to work.

“I feel like we’re going to rebound pretty quick, but in the short-term, it’s going to hurt,” he said.

He noted that not all sectors of the economy are hurting. Some businesses, like grocery stores and home improvement stores, are doing well; while others, such as restaurants, have been hurt by the crisis.

“Our stores are doing a good job of doing online stuff,” he added. “Everybody’s being very creative. I’ve been very proud of our local merchants and how creative they’ve been to capture what business is there.”

He believes some of the layoffs can be attributed to employers wanting to protect employees from the virus. Others may see the new unemployment provisions in the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act as a way of ensuring employees have steady income during this period.

The act provides unemployment benefits to people who are unable to work due to the COVID-19 crisis, including independent contractors, self-employed and gig economy workers. These groups of employees are not usually eligible for unemployment compensation. While they don’t know the exact number, Alabama Department of Labor spokesperson Tara Hutchison said they estimate that at least 30,000 of the 80,000 who have filed unemployment claims are in those categories of employees.

People receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance are eligible to receive $600 per week. They may also qualify for up to $265 per week from the state of Alabama.

“Around here in Cullman, Alabama, you can pay rent and buy groceries with that,” said Jacobs.