After over a year of extra funds weekly, the extra unemployment benefits are coming to an end.
There were three federal relief programs created in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, which Congress renewed several times to help keep Americans afloat. Unemployment was reported to be at its highest since the Great Depression. Now in just a month, the safety net will be removed.
That’s right! As of September 6, 2021 (Labor Day), millions of Americans will no longer receive additional funds. Reportedly, there are still at least 5.5 million unemployed Americans with, oddly, 9.2 million open jobs and approximately 7.5 million workers face the loss of aid.
“With the U.S. economy still short 6.5 million jobs as of the end of June 2021, 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” Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation, wrote in the Wednesday report.
Thereafter, White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated the administration has not decided whether the extra benefits should expire in September; a reverse from Biden’s previous stance in June, when he said it “made sense” for the programs to terminate in the fall. “There has not been any decision about this at this point,” she told reporters Friday.
However, one couldn’t help but wonder what this sudden shift in income could mean for the economy? Would unemployed Americans safely find jobs in time enough to fill the financial gap?
