Extra Unemployment Benefits for COVID-19: 13 Million May Not Get Aid Next Year

COVID-19 Extra Unemployment

Getty Lay Guzman stands behind a partial protective plastic screen and wears a mask and gloves as she works as a cashier at the Presidente Supermarket on April 13, 2020 in Miami, Florida.

As Congress remains deadlocked over a new coronavirus stimulus package, millions of Americans are at risk of losing their unemployment benefits come next year.

Roughly half of the workers receiving unemployment benefits are currently tapping into the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Labor. PUA, created under the spring CARES Act, offers up to 39 weeks of aid for those who would not typically qualify for “regular unemployment compensation,” including freelance, part-time and self-employed workers, the Department previously stated.

Because the program is slated to expire at the end of the year, CNBC reported, aid for millions of “vulnerable” workers could potentially be jeopardized.

Howard University Professor William Spriggs recently told the outlet that the pandemic assistance offers coverage for groups that are disproportionately affected by the pandemic, “including Black workers who are overrepresented in self-employed, contract or part-time roles.”

“The share of workers getting Pandemic Unemployment Assistance clearly points to the gap in the regular state programs that ignore workers and a number of low-wage industries,” Spriggs expressed to CNBC.

“It shows we could and can devise access to programs to insure low-wage workers,” he added.

Unless Congress can agree upon a new stimulus package before the benefits expire on December 31, only workers who would typically qualify for traditional unemployment will “continue to receive aid in the new year,” CNBC indicated.

Here’s what you need to know:


In Mid-August, 13.5 Million Workers Were Collecting Unemployment Through PUA

dept of labor

GettyThe US Department of Labor Building on March 26, 2020, in Washington, DC.

According to the Department of Labor news release, roughly 29 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits in mid-August — 13.5 million of which were collecting aid through PUA.

The Department wrote:

The total number of people claiming benefits in all programs for the week ending August 15 was 29,224,546, an increase of 2,195,835 from the previous week. There were 1,639,622 persons claiming benefits in all programs in the comparable week in 2019.

The release added that 49 states that week reported 13,570,327 workers claiming aid from PUA.

The tallies were a “sharp increase from the 10.9 million people collecting PUA the week prior,” CNBC reported.


Congress Is Considering a ‘Skinny’ Version of a Second Stimulus Relief Plan

McConnell

GettySenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is swarmed by reporters as he leaves the Senate floor and walks to his office at the U.S. Capitol on July 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.

While the U.S. House of Representatives remains on a break until September 14, the Senate returned on September 8 to unveil its proposed “skinny” relief bill.

The trimmed-down package targets “health care, education, and economic issues,” according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, according to Nexstar Media Wire. It also includes an extra $300 weekly unemployment benefit.

The Senate leader expressed the possibility for a vote “as soon as this week,” Nextar reported.

Although the skinny bill doesn’t include an enhanced benefit, Democrats are already criticizing the bill as “emaciated,” and Republicans need Democratic support to pass it. President Donald Trump previously included extra unemployment benefits in an August executive order. Although some question the legality of that order, some states have already requested those benefits.

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