The national unemployment rate has risen faster than it has in decades, the government announced Friday, as the Trump administration struggled to move forward with new policies to reduce the economic devastation of the coronavirus pandemic.

One week ago, Congress authorized bigger unemployment benefits, $1,200 payments to American households and billions of dollars worth of forgivable business loans meant to stave off layoffs. None of those policies has taken effect, to the frustration of their intended beneficiaries.

President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the so-called Paycheck Protection Program which will allow small business owners to ask banks for government-funded loans that would cover payroll costs and be fully forgiven if the company avoids layoffs for eight weeks would launch Friday. But the nations biggest banks said they werent ready, and half a dozen business owners told HuffPost on Friday morning that they werent able to apply for the loans.

Its a lot like banging your head in to a wall and not getting anywhere, said Scott Cavendish, owner of a craft brewery in Gastonia, North Carolina. We reached out to four separate banks and all we get is, If youre interested, put your email here and well contact you.

Cavendish said he has already laid off nine of his 12 employees. The forgivable loans would theoretically allow him to hire them back at no cost, as the government would essentially pay their salaries for eight weeks.