$300 unemployment benefit: in which states will it be paid and for how long?
It’s been over a month since unemployed workers last received the $600 weekly federal government supplement to their state benefits, which was approved under the CARES Act.
In August President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders after Congress failed to draft and approve the fifth coronavirus relief package. Trump’s actions range from working to slow down evictions, extend unemployment benefits and assist Americans hurting financially from the outbreak by also pausing payroll taxes.
See also: Stimulus Checks: what has been agreed and what remains to be resolved for a second payment?
Some states have declined the unemployment aid
President Trump’s executive measure created the Lost Wages Assistance program which offers a boost of $300 a week in unemployment benefits and states have the option to give an additional $100 a week if they have enough funds.
So far ten states have not received the federal approval to offer the extra money in unemployment benefits: Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin -- while South Dakota’s governor stated that the state won’t apply for the extra unemployment benefit because it never shut down its economy.
Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Texas were the first states to apply and be approved immediately for the extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits provided by the federal government as part of Trump’s executive order.
As of 1 September, 40 states have received federal approval. Montana is one of the few states that is actually paying $400 a week, while most states are only giving $300 a week. The boost will only last for another three weeks (from 1 August to 15 August) because the program only has $44 billion in funding.