The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to 880,000 – a sign of improvement, but still evidence that the pandemic is forcing may businesses to cut jobs.

In New Jersey, 20,000 new unemployment claims were filed last week, around the same number as the week before. More than 1.5 million New Jersey residents have filed for unemployment since March.

A Monmouth County women who lost both of her jobs during the pandemic says that she has still not received her benefits, months after filing her claim.

MaryAnn Zicarelli says that she is finding it difficult to make ends meet after losing both of her jobs. Zicarelli is a 1099 contractor who was working as a yoga instructor and an in-home developmental specialist for young children.

“I have tried to pick up extra work here and there. I just applied to be a server. So, I am trying to juggle a million things, trying to piecemeal everything together,” she says. “As you know, its’ not a great time to find work.”

Zicarelli says that she could really use the unemployment benefits to help pay for rent, food and other expenses. She has been certifying her claims ever week and has received multiple emails saying that the money is being transferred to her account. But she says that she never received it. She also says that she has not been able to get an unemployment representative on the phone.

Thousands of New Jersey residents have reported similar issues with the unemployment office. State officials previously stated that the delays were caused by outdated computer software, a backlog of claims and other issues specific to each person.

News 12 New Jersey reached out to the Department of Labor about Zicarelli’s issue, but did not hear back.