WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Americans who have lost their jobs due to the coronavirus outbreak will start getting enhanced jobless benefits as soon as this week as states deploy hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid, state officials said on Tuesday.
People who lost their jobs wait in line to file for unemployment following an outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at an Arkansas Workforce Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, U.S. April 6, 2020. REUTERS/Nick Oxford
Congress approved an additional $600 weekly payment for jobless workers as part of an unprecedented $2.3 trillion rescue package signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 27.
It could take several weeks for that money to filter through federal and state bureaucracies into the bank accounts of many of the millions of Americans who have been thrown out of work.
Still, qualifying New York residents will see the additional benefit payments this week, according to the state Department of Labor. New Jersey also aims to get the payments out this week, though it may take longer, spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi said.
Missouri and Georgia plan to start sendi