GREEN BAY, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS) — It felt a little like a weekend in downtown Green Bay.

Traffic wasn’t terribly heavy and there was plenty of parking.

But it was noon. On a Thursday.

Across the state people are finding ways to work from home in face of the coronavirus pandemic.  Others have seen their jobs eliminated or hours reduced as the economy grinds to a halt.

That’s where unemployment insurance can help, offering residents financial assistance as they wait to return to work or seek a new job.

“Unemployment laws are pretty complicated, but the process for applying is not that hard,” said Jim Golembeski, executive director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board in Green Bay. “You go online to the Department of Workforce Development and they can guide you through it pretty well.”

The department offers up this overview of the registration process. 

— Apply online - The week you become unemployed, file your application online and do not wait to file. For more information, instructional videos, and to apply, please visit here..

— File your weekly claim - After you have applied online, you will need to file a claim certification each week. This will require you to answer a series of questions. You must continue to file a weekly claim certification for each week you would like to receive benefits.

Additional information about the program can be found in this handbook here.

COVID-19 specific questions can be found here.

Golembeski provides some optimistic words for people who currently out of work.

“We’ll get past this,” he said. “This is not like the Great Recession. We have a lot of employers who are hiring yet.”