Congress also recently enacted a $2 trillion relief package, which boosts unemployment benefits by expanding who is eligible, extending the time period you're able to claim state unemployment benefits by an additional 13 weeks on top of your state's maximum, and upping unemployment benefits by an extra $600 per week for up to four months. "In this emergency, I would not discourage anyone from trying to apply for benefits, even if they wouldn't have applied before," Michele Evermore, senior policy analyst for the National Employment Law Project, tells CNBC Make It. Last year, the national average unemployment benefit replaced about 45% of a worker's pay, according to data from the Department of Labor. Typically, the payments can last up to 26 weeks, although, in the past, states have opted to extend benefits when unemployment rates have been high.