$ 300 a week: New York began to pay additional benefits to the unemployed

Financial assistance will be provided to 2,26 million New Yorkers. Benefits of $ 300 per week have already been mailed, with another round coming next week. The edition writes about it New York Post.

This week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration finally began distributing unemployment benefits to the state's 2,26 million residents - just $ 1,9 billion - weeks after the White House accused the state of delaying the deadline.

The State Department of Labor said unemployed New Yorkers have already received retroactive benefits of $ 300 a week for the weeks beginning August 2, 9 and 16.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which oversees the program, has approved the second and final rounds of payments that will cover a maximum of six weeks in New York.

Starting next week, the Department of Labor is due to provide jet benefits for 2,3 million New Yorkers for the weeks starting August 23 and 30, and September 6.

State Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said there has been a lot of effort over the past six months to bring unemployment benefits to millions of New Yorkers.

Reardon blamed the federal government for delaying these payments. “The Federal Wage Lost Families Program is finally providing the unemployed families with much-needed support, and the federal government has no right to deprive Americans of that support again,” she said.

The commissioner also added that leaders in Washington must adopt a comprehensive package of measures to support unemployed families, as well as states and local governments that have been hit by the pandemic. “Anything less is simply unacceptable,” she says.

US President Donald Trump authorized federal unemployment insurance in a decree on Aug. 8 after the $ 31 per week CARES benefits expired on July 600 and Congress stalled on an extension plan.

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Cuomo initially spoke out against Trump's alternative program as "ludicrous" and "impossible" when it was first announced because it required states to spend an additional $ 100 a week for every unemployed person. According to the governor, New York could not afford such a waste. The White House subsequently dropped this requirement.

The White House has accused Cuomo's team of rejecting the president's offer to provide a $ 300 bonus to the unemployed under the Lost Wages program.

As a result, Labor Department officials announced that New York was qualifying for the program and would begin disbursing funds.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the new indicators indicate an improvement in the situation with unemployment, which is still high.

Thus, the state unemployment rate fell from 16% in July to 12,5% ​​in August. The unemployment rate in New York City fell from 20% to 16%. However, the city is still 626 fewer jobs compared to August 2019, when the unemployment rate was 3,9%.