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.
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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
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Content: The $300 extra in weekly unemployment benefits is a win-win for the economy and jobless Americans, some experts say - MarketWatch
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The $300 extra in weekly unemployment benefits is a win-win for the economy and jobless Americans, some experts say
Last Updated: Dec. 23, 2020 at 9:11 a.m. ET First Published: Dec. 22, 2020 at 10:17 a.m. ET
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Elisabeth Buchwald
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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. KENA BETANCUR/AFP via Getty Images
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Financial relief is on its way to millions of Americans who were on the verge of losing their unemployment benefits entirely after Dec. 26. But it’s bound to be a waiting game, experts say. Just in the nick of time, lawmakers passed a $908 billion stimulus package that calls for$600 stimulus checks for adults who earned under $75,000 last year, plus $600 per child, as well as 11 weeks of $300 in enhanced federal unemployment benefits. The package also calls for an 11-week extension of the CARES Act program that allowed gig workers and independent contractors to qualify for unemployment benefits. They will also be eligible to receive the $300 add-on in benefits. Advertisement
The relief bill also calls for “a federally funded $100 per week additional benefit to individuals who have at least $5,000 a year in self-employment income but are disqualified from receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance because they are eligible for regular state unemployment benefits,” according to a bill summary circulated by Congressional Democratic aides on Monday.