Two key unemployment compensation programs have expired, leaving millions of people with few economic choices as a result of the year-and-a-half-old coronavirus pandemic.
Critical Federal Programs that Expired on Monday
In a recently published article in Associated Press, on Monday, two important initiatives came to an end. One offered assistance to self-employed and gig workers while the other offered benefits to individuals who had been unemployed for more than six months. In addition, the $300 weekly supplementary unemployment compensation offered by the Biden administration expired on Monday also.
Approximately 8.9 million Americans are expected to lose all or part of their benefits. While the White House has urged states to continue paying the $300 weekly benefit using stimulus funds, no states have chosen to do so. After several companies complained that they could not locate enough individuals to employ, many states opted out of the federal program early.
Meanwhile, the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said that the approximately $650 billion kept millions of Americans who lost their employment pay their apartments, settling their rent and expenses, but millions might lose their homes, according to a published article in US News.
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Other Benefits Millions of Americans Can Enjoy
Americans who are still suffering financially as a result of the pandemic will find a smaller patchwork of social assistance programs, both at the local and federal levels. Last month, the White House authorized a 25 percent increase in food stamp payments, commonly known as SNAP benefits. For the 42.7 million Americans who get these payments, the increase will continue forever.
Meanwhile, while the federal eviction moratorium has expired, a dozen Democratic-controlled states, including California, New York, Washington, Illinois, and Minnesota, have extended their moratoriums. The eviction moratorium in New York has been extended until January 15, according to a published article in News4 Tucson.
Moreover, those who have been jobless for less than six months will continue to receive benefits, but the amount will be reduced to the level that each state pays. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the average weekly check is $387 although this varies significantly by state.
Views from Experts and Analysts
In a published article in ABC27, JPMorgan economists, Peter McCrory and Daniel Silver, found a "zero connection" between job growth and state choices to eliminate federal unemployment benefits. Kyle Coombs, a Columbia University economist, discovered very minor advantages.
Andrew Stettner with the Century Foundation said in a report, "The end of the pandemic unemployment benefits will be an abrupt jolt to millions of Americans who won't find a job in time for this arbitrary end to assistance."
According to the Labor Department, there are still 5.7 million fewer jobs than there were before the pandemic. On the other hand, these federal programs will be phased down when the US economy recovers from the pandemic; but there will be significant gaps in the recovery.
These federal benefits are also coming to an end sooner than they were during the last recession, the Great Recession. During that slump, unemployment benefits were extended in different forms from the onset of the crisis in 2008-2009 until 2013. Only 1.3 million individuals were still getting benefits when they were eventually phased out.
