Some states are will issue an additional $600 per week for people on unemployment insurance amid the CCP virus pandemic.
These weekly payments are part of the $2.2 trillion package, known as the CARES Act, that was passed in Congress and signed into law last month.
“As soon as the CARES Act became law, our team at [Department of Employment and Economic Development] got to work putting the technology in place to support these payments and ensure that we were ready to get the money to Minnesotans in need,” commissioner Steve Grove said in a statement. “With a record number of unemployment applications, we know this is an uncertain and challenging time for many. It was critical that we act swiftly and provide this additional compensation without delay.”
“We’ll be ahead of most of the other states,” said Kersha Cartwright, spokeswoman for the Georgia Labor Department, told the paper. “We think we will be in the front pack.”
Authorities in New Jersey also confirmed that the new weekly payments will go out starting at the end of the week.
The New Jersey Department of Labor’s website, as of Wednesday, wrote that it has intended “to begin issuing the additional $600/week compensation the end of the week of April 5, for payment of week of March 29th benefits.”
Kentucky officials said the extra payments will be sent out starting on April 9.
Amid business shutdowns and layoffs, more than 10 million Americans have filed for unemployment insurance over the past several weeks, according to Labor Department data. Economists and analysis have said they expect that number to rise even further.