Almost 3mn Americans Fell Off Unemployment Benefits Cliff
NEW YORK (CNBC) - Nearly 3 million Americans appear to have fallen off the unemployment benefits cliff after Christmas, a scenario many had feared amid delays in pushing through another Covid relief bill.
Jobless benefits offered through two temporary CARES Act programs were set to lapse the last weekend in December — a "cliff” that would immediately deny income support to millions of workers absent federal intervention.
Congress scrambled to pass a pandemic aid measure, after months of failed negotiations, to prevent that outcome.
Legislators passed a $900 billion package on Dec. 21. The bill extended benefits for the long-term unemployed into March. Former president Donald Trump delayed signing the bill until almost a week later, on Dec. 27, after the deadline had passed to avert a cliff.
U.S. Labor Department data issued Thursday provides the first glimpse of how delays from Congress and the president affected benefits.
More than 1.7 million people dropped off Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program paying benefits to self-employed, gig, part-time and other workers, between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, according to the Labor Department.
Roughly 1.1 million stopped receiving Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which offered extra aid to those who ran out of their standard allotment of state benefits.
Jobless benefits offered through two temporary CARES Act programs were set to lapse the last weekend in December — a "cliff” that would immediately deny income support to millions of workers absent federal intervention.
Congress scrambled to pass a pandemic aid measure, after months of failed negotiations, to prevent that outcome.
Legislators passed a $900 billion package on Dec. 21. The bill extended benefits for the long-term unemployed into March. Former president Donald Trump delayed signing the bill until almost a week later, on Dec. 27, after the deadline had passed to avert a cliff.
U.S. Labor Department data issued Thursday provides the first glimpse of how delays from Congress and the president affected benefits.
More than 1.7 million people dropped off Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, a program paying benefits to self-employed, gig, part-time and other workers, between Dec. 26 and Jan. 2, according to the Labor Department.
Roughly 1.1 million stopped receiving Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which offered extra aid to those who ran out of their standard allotment of state benefits.