Title: The $300 extra in weekly unemployment benefits is a win-win for the economy and jobless Americans, some experts say - MarketWatch
Headings: The $300 extra in weekly unemployment benefits is a win-win for the economy and jobless Americans, some experts say
The $300 extra in weekly unemployment benefits is a win-win for the economy and jobless Americans, some experts say
Elisabeth Buchwald
Had lawmakers not extended unemployment benefits, some 4.8 million Americans would have fallen into poverty, according to one estimate.
Unlike the $600 add-on weekly unemployment benefit, Americans are likely to spend the entire $300 add-on unemployment benefit, one economist said.
Referenced Symbols
When will jobless Americans receive the extra $300?
There’s another major complication for gig workers
The $300 benefit will ‘have a much better bang for the dollar’ than the $600 add-on
Millions of Americans were surviving on below minimum wage benefits
Read Next
I’m a disabled police officer. My wife persuaded me to sign a quitclaim deed so she could refinance our home at a better rate. Now she’s hinting at divorce
About the Author
Elisabeth Buchwald
Compare Bank Accounts

Content: The program, known as the Lost Wage Assistance program, paid out the $300 benefit for six weeks in most states. Advertisement
“After the expiration of the $600 supplement unemployment benefits in August, families receiving unemployment benefits sharply cut spending,” said Fiona Greig, co-president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute JPM, +1.31%. “ It is likely that we will see a boost to spending from additional relief. How big that boost will be is unclear.” Many retailers across the country hoped that a second stimulus package would come to fruition before the tail end of the holiday shopping season, effectively enabling consumers to spend more money. Now, “it seems likely that there isn’t a whole lot of pent up demand for additional goods,” Greig added. Millions of Americans were surviving on below minimum wage benefits
Since the LWA program and the $600 supplement benefit ended, Americans in six states have been receiving less than the equivalent of the $7.25 an hour federal minimum wage in unemployment benefits, without any form of enhanced benefits. In October, across the country Americans on average received nearly $320 a week in unemployment benefits, according to data from the U.S. Department of Labor. “
By September, Americans drew out 50% of the initial balance gains in April, according to a JPMorgan Chase Institute report
”
It was necessary for lawmakers to reinstate enhanced unemployment benefits because “the health conditions have only gotten worse,” said Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy organization focused on workers’ rights. Advertisement
“People who can stay home should definitely not be forced to take potentially unsafe work, now more than ever.”