It’s the last month of $600-a-week unemployment benefits. What happens next?
At the end of this month, millions of unemployed Americans will get their last $600-a-week federal pandemic unemployment check, unless Congress acts to extend the program.
Overall, jobless benefits are pumping about $100 billion per month into the U.S. economy. What’s that going to mean for people struggling with unemployment with bills due?
Jody Solell is 64 and works for a solar energy installer in Maryland. He was furloughed in March, and recently got called back for a very partial reopening — just 2 1/2 hours one week and 2 hours another.
Solell is still getting $880 a week on unemployment, which includes the $600 in federal pandemic benefits.
What will his family do if that runs out at the end of July?
“Uh, I haven’t even thought about that,” he said. “That’s why they make credit cards.”
Financial advisory firm The Ascent has surveyed unemployed workers and research analyst Dann Albright said, “almost two-thirds could go less than three months without the extra $600 dollars. They would borrow more money, and take more drastic cuts in their expenses.”
A recent survey by the Urban Institute finds more than 4 in 10 American households have suffered job- or income-loss during the pandemic.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.