Congress didn’t extend a $600-a-week boost to unemployment benefits, which expired July 31.
That leaves aid recipients with their typical state benefits. In some states, they can amount to as little as $5 or $10 a week.
Democrats and Republicans are still negotiating what to do. #
Millions of Americans are getting a big cut in their unemployment checks after the expiration of a policy that offered an extra $600 a week in aid.
A subset of workers — such as part-timers, low-wage workers, and some freelancers and contractors — will feel that cut more acutely than others.
The weekly $600 federal supplement to unemployment benefits, part of a federal coronavirus relief law enacted in March, came on top of the typical aid that states pay.
However, state aid can vary significantly from person to person. It falls in a range between a minimum and maximum value. Most states pay minimums below $100 a week.
Hawaii, for example, pays $5 a week on the low end. It’s not much higher in other states like Louisiana ($10), Connecticut ($15), North Carolina ($15), Nevada ($16), Oklahoma ($16) and Delaware ($20), according to Labor Department data.
Arizona and Washington state have the highest minimums, just shy of $190 a week. The U.S. average is $61.
The federal unemployment supplement boosted these minimum payments by $600 a week.
But that policy expired Friday, meaning people receiving the minimum (or close to the minimum) will in some cases be relying on just a few dollars a week in aid.
“Unemployment benefits can be meager without a federal supplement,” said Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation. “Especially at a time when it’s very difficult for many people to find a job.”
Democrats and Republicans are still negotiating what to do, including whether to extend or replace the $600-a-week supplement. Officials have signaled a compromise is not close at hand.
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Low earners and part-timers
A low minimum doesn’t necessarily mean a state is less generous relative to others. They may make it easier than other states for workers to qualify for benefits. For example. Hawaii, which has the lowest minimum, paid out the second-highest average benefit in May — $466 a week.
In May, states paid an average $321 a week, according to the Labor Department.
– CNBC.