$600 Unemployment Benefit Extended? May Depend on How It Affects Economy

Millions of Americans have been wondering whether a second stimulus check would be coming from the government. A more recent concern, however, is the soon-to-end weekly $600 unemployment benefit the federal government has been distributing that is set to expire by July 31.

Millions of dependency

There are an estimated 20 million United States citizens who are receiving the $600 benefit who are at risk of losing the only financial support they have. If Congress does not decide on an extension, the unemployment benefit would suddenly be cut short.

According to Forbes, if the expiration continues, millions of individuals will experience a severe financial shock, especially those who have heavily relied on the benefit due to the massive job losses the United States has experienced amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Introduced with the CARES Act, the weekly $600 unemployment benefit was signed into law on March 27 by US President Donald Trump. The government, however, only aimed to provide the benefit as a temporary solution to the ongoing financial crisis that has hit that nation with the global pandemic and is scheduled to assist citizens up until July 31.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) recorded an increase in the personal income in April by 10.5% despite the millions of job cuts that happened throughout the country that raised the unemployment rate to 14.7% for the same month from a previous 4.4% in March.

Also Read: Unemployment Benefits Worth $600 Will End a Week Early, Labor Department Says

The statistics show that April has been the most damaging month for employees and their sources of income since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

The contradiction between the rise in personal income and increase of unemployment rates was due to the combination of government-distributed $1,200 stimulus checks and the first phase of the weekly $600 unemployment benefit.

Disproportionate losses

An analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) revealed that women, people of color, and young workers would be severely affected by the end of the $600 per week unemployment benefit due to the excessive loss of jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CBO estimated that the workers who benefitted from the $600 per week consisted of 53% women and 47% people of color but did not take into consideration individuals who are self-employed or those who work in the gig economy, as reported by CNBC.

The statistics also suggest that black people will be severely affected as they are more likely to lose their jobs compared to white workers, say experts and are also much more affected by the coronavirus as data shows the majority of deaths relating to COVID-19 in the US as being black.

According to Khou, one of the most sought-after proposals by Americans across the nation is the HEROES Act, which gives a sizable amount of financial benefit that trumps the previous CARES Act.

Another proposal on the table is to extend the current weekly $600 unemployment benefit until the coronavirus pandemic ends to support the states and the expiration would then vary based on each region.

The third is a weekly $450 benefit to those who return to work which aims to stir the community and get people back to their jobs to help revive the economy that has been severely hampered by the coronavirus pandemic.