The state agency in charge of Minnesota’s unemployment assistance program wasted no time in “getting checks in the mail” after the recent federal stimulus bill was signed into law.
From Staff Reports
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Acting Secretary Jennifer Berrier today announced that thousands of Pennsylvanians will begin receiving an extra $300 per week in unemployment payments starting this week. The extension of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program is part of the federal stimulus that Congress passed last month.
“This boost in unemployment benefits is vital to hardworking Pennsylvania families who have lost their income as a result of the global pandemic,” said Berrier. “I am pleased that L&I was able to work with the federal Department of Labor (DOL) to get the information needed to quickly restart this program and get payments into the pockets of Pennsylvanians in need.”
During the week of December 27- January 2, there were 29,651 initial regular unemployment claims (up 54.5 percent from the prior week) and 557,419 total claims for all unemployment benefit categories (up 12.1 percent from the prior week) filed by Washingtonians, according to the Employment Security Department (ESD).
Initial regular claims applications remain at elevated levels and are at 201 percent above last year’s weekly new claims applications.
Initial claims for regular unemployment, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and continued/ongoing claims for regular benefits all increased over the week.
The initial regular claims figures include new and restarted claims. The 54.5 percent increase in initial regular claims occurred across all industry sectors over the week.
Answers to some of your unemployment questions as second stimulus programs roll out
Published: January 7, 2021 4:48 PM EST
Updated: January 7, 2021 5:46 PM EST
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A new year brings with it fresh questions related to unemployment.
Many of you are writing in to WINK News about payments, a lack of them, or partial payments. There are questions about Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) those are the unemployment programs continued in the stimulus bill on top of the new programs, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC).
Lindsey Bates wrote in saying she was collecting PUA, and then she was asked to apply for the Extended Benefits program. She asked, “Now my claim says my claim status is suspended but I am monetarily eligible. What does all this mean?”
The package President Donald Trump signed Dec. 27 is slated to provide up to $300 a week in federal benefits. The federal assistance will run through March 13 and involves different programs.