Arizonans out of work and collecting unemployment benefits on Monday got a welcome boost: They were paid the $300 weekly supplement President Trump called for in an executive order.
A $600 weekly supplement passed by Congress in March expired three weeks ago, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with no more than the maximum state benefit of $240 weekly, second lowest in the nation.
The $300 weekly boost from Trump will be retroactive for people who were out of work the weeks that ended Aug. 1 and Aug. 8, and Arizona officials said those retroactive payments could come as soon as this week.
Claimants in Arizona who got their weekly funds deposited into bank accounts on Monday reported receiving the additional $300. Not all applicants get paid on Monday, depending when they file their weekly applications, so not everyone has seen the supplement yet.
Congress deadlocked on a national plan to supplement unemployment, so Trump took executive action. His plan was for states to contribute another $100 a week for unemployed people, but Arizona and some other states said they couldn't afford it.
The $300 boost still more than doubles what people in Arizona normally would collect, giving them a maximum $540 a week in benefits, before taxes.
"DES is working to provide retroactive payments ... and anticipates beginning those payments later this week," spokesman Brett Bezio said Monday. "DES anticipates receiving funding on a week-by-week basis ... and will make payments until federal funding is exhausted. Claimants do not need to do anything in addition to their weekly filings."
The $300 weekly supplement is known as "lost wages assistance," or LWA, and is paid through a grant via the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Officials estimated that if all 50 states take advantage, the money will last five weeks.
According to DES, it will be paid until either:
- Congress enacts a new supplement.
- The $44 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund designated for LWA is exhausted.
- The Federal Disaster Relief Fund Balance reaches $25 billion. Or
- The benefit week ending December 5, 2020, is reached.
The $300 LWA payment is subject to federal and state income taxes.
Applications for unemployment benefits in Arizona have been trending downward but have surpassed the weekly record set during the Great Recession for 21 consecutive weeks.
For the week of Aug. 8, more than 14,000 Arizonans filed for unemployment and another nearly 35,000 people applied for another benefit called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for those who were self-employed, contractors or otherwise couldn't qualify for regular unemployment insurance.
More than 1.1 million Arizonans have collected either unemployment of PUA during the pandemic as jobs have been slashed across the state. The payments total approximately $8.7 billion.
DES reports hiring more than 900 workers to deal with the onslaught of applications but remains beset by administrative problems, from jammed phone lines to fraud investigations that hold up weekly payments for many.
Reach reporter Ryan Randazzo at ryan.randazzo@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4331. Follow him on Twitter @UtilityReporter.
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$300 unemployment supplement paid to out-of-work Arizonans - AZCentral
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