Typically when the economy is in shambles and unemployment is high more people turn to other resources for sources of income. Many Americans suffer from impairments that make it difficult to work on a full-time basis, so when these Americans lose employment they sometimes turn to the Social Security disability program, but that does not seem to be the case right now. Many times when unemployment is high the number of people applying for Social Security disability benefits increases, but recent data shows just the opposite. Claims for Social Security disability benefits are actually decreasing.
This data from Social Security shows that in each quarter of 2020 the number of disability claims has declined. A quarter represents a three-month period of time. In the first quarter of 2020 196,386 disability claims were filed. In the second quarter of the year 163,629 claims were filed and most recently 149,909 claims were filed in the third quarter of 2020. We would expect to see the number of claims filed increasing each quarter considering the economic climate, but that is not happening.
Much of the nation’s economic difficulties are related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the pandemic might be the same reason why disability claims are on the decline. Since mid March Social Security offices have remained mostly closed due to the pandemic. This has made it more difficult to file a disability claim. Yes, many people are able to file disability claims online or by scheduling a phone appointment with Social Security to do so, but getting through to Social Security by phone has always remained a difficult chore and with only phone service available the number of calls the agency is receiving has only increased. There has remained no opportunity for Americans to visit their local Social Security office to file a claim and this will continue for the foreseeable future.
