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Unemployment aid will continue to provide a lifeline for millions of workers who continue to struggle to find jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic, thanks to President Donald Trump’s signing on the 900 stimulus bill. $ which extends three major jobless programs.
But when those benefits actually land in the pockets of the unemployed, it is called into question because of Mr. Trump’s delay in signing the relief bill, citing his opposition to his $ 600 stimulus checks that he called it “ridiculously low”.
Two major programs for the unemployed, which provided help to more than 12 million unemployed, expired on December 26 – the day before Mr. Trump signed the bill.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program (PUA), which covers on-demand and self-employed workers; and the Emergency Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (PEUC), which provides additional weeks of unemployment assistance to those who run out of their regular unemployment benefits, both of which expired on December 26.
Because the bill was signed a day after these two unemployment programs ended, concerns have been raised that unemployed workers could suffer from a gap in aid payments. But experts say benefits are unlikely to lapse because of it, and the Department of Labor told The Hill it “does not expect eligible claimants to miss a week of benefits due to the timing. of the promulgation of the law. “
However, there could be delays in obtaining benefits because states will have to reprogram their computers with new dates, noted Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project. Unemployed workers will receive wage arrears for the amount owed to them once their state’s systems are operational.
“It’s a huge relief for a few weeks, especially the $ 300” extra weekly unemployment benefit, Evermore said. “One thing people don’t realize is that the average unemployment benefit is at the poverty level in many states.”
The Ministry of Labor did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
11 additional weeks of benefits
The stimulus bill will extend the PUA and PEUC programs by 11 weeks, as well as state regular benefits with an additional $ 300 in weekly unemployment assistance – or half of the additional $ 600 in assistance received by workers unemployed at the start of the pandemic. and which expired in July.
At the same time, the number of people applying for unemployment assistance remains at a high level, showing that the coronavirus continues to wreak havoc on the economy.
“A lot of workers are worried because they went down the hole while they were unemployed; they ran into debt,” said Andrew Stettner, an unemployment expert at the Century Foundation, left. “Some research shows that the average unemployed person has negative net worth.”
The extra $ 300 a week, along with the extra weeks of unemployment, is unlikely to be enough for many unemployed workers to get out of debt, Stettner added, but would likely help a lot to meet their basic needs – at least. until the programs expire. in mid-March.
Kenneth Elliott, a 50-year-old hailstorm driver in West Palm Beach, Florida, has been out of work since March. Between April and July, he was able to qualify for $ 600 per week in additional benefits, which covered his expenses. But as of August, he’s been living on just $ 275 a week in state unemployment benefits, “which can’t survive,” he recently told MoneyWatch.
Several months ago, Elliott abandoned his own apartment and moved in with a friend to try and save on housing costs, he told CBS MoneyWatch. But the $ 275 still doesn’t cover all of his expenses, which include medical insurance, car insurance and his phone bill, so he found himself falling behind on rent.
“I was fortunate to have a very understanding owner who tries to work with me, but I don’t know how far it’s going to go,” Elliott said. “I’m going over.”
Weeks of waiting?
It could take about two to three weeks for states to start paying the additional $ 300 in weekly benefits, Stettner said. These benefits flow from the Federal Unemployment Pandemic Compensation Program (FPUC), which was created by the CARES (Aid, Relief and Economic Security against Coronavirus) law in March, but expired in July. In order to get these $ 300 payments, states will first have to restart this program after a long hiatus.
Unemployment programs are administered independently by each state, and unemployed workers seek help through their labor departments. Depending on the efficiency of their state’s IT systems and staffing, unemployed workers can experience very different wait times for benefits. Some states may be able to send the $ 300 in FPUC benefits quickly, but others may see longer delays.
For example, 8 of 10 unemployed workers in Wyoming receive their unemployment benefits within 14 days of being eligible for benefits, according to the Century Foundation. But only 2 in 10 unemployed people in Kentucky receive their first payments within two weeks.
Cliff avoided
About 12 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits through the PUA and PEUC programs which expired on December 26.
Both of these programs, now extended until March 14, pay regular state unemployment benefits, which average just over $ 300 per week.
But the extension is only 11 weeks. The economic crisis caused by the pandemic is unlikely to be over before this bundle of benefits expires in mid-March, meaning lawmakers could debate additional unemployment assistance in 2021.
“I don’t think we’ll be done with the pandemic and the recession in 11 weeks,” Evermore noted.
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