Unemployment Benefits to End Nationwide this Weekend

Pandemic unemployment benefits are ending nationwide this weekend. According to the Century Foundation, currently at least 7.5 million people are projected to lose their compensation in the 26 states that are still paying benefits. Job openings are at a record high and many employers are boosting wages, offering bonuses and providing other incentives but studies and data from the government shows that employment hasn’t grown in the states that terminated benefits early and many unemployed people are hesitant about going back to the workforce citing continued health concerns, trouble finding child care and an increased interest in switching careers as some of the main factors.

About two dozen states stopped at least one of their federal unemployment benefit programs in June and July. Congress first passed the expansion of unemployment benefits when the pandemic began about 18 months ago. In March of 2020, lawmakers approved a $600 federal weekly boost to jobless benefits for up to four months which resulted in about two-thirds of recipients making more on unemployment than while employed. In late December, Congress reduced that number to $300 a week and Democrats extended the boost as part of their $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan earlier this year.