State delivers $600 checks to 40,000 jobless Mainers The one-time payment will go to those unemployed because of COVID-19 as the state prepares to start new federal jobless benefits. Share The state is sending a one-time payment of $600 to about 40,000 Mainers unemployed or underemployed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Maine Department of Labor said Tuesday. The payments were made with funds allocated from Maine’s share of federal money provided to states for coronavirus relief this spring. The payments are separate from the $600 checks that are expected to be distributed as early as next week to most Americans as part of a new pandemic relief bill approved by Congress Monday.