Maine jobless claims remain high amid virus surge
(The Center Square) – Thousands more Maine workers entered the jobless ranks last week as fallout from the coronavirus outbreak continues to pummel the state’s economy.
At least 2,950 unemployment claims were filed for the week that ended Dec. 19, according to the Maine Department of Labor’s weekly report.
Another 1,900 claims were filed for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which covers workers ineligible for regular unemployment benefits, the agency said.
The state’s unemployed were set to get a boost to weekly payments with Gov. Janet Mills this week authorizing the release of a one-time emergency relief payment of $600 to about 40,000 people who are unemployed. The payments won’t be available for workers filing new jobless claims.
Nationally, about 803,000 new claims were filed last week, according to the Labor Department. That’s slightly less claims than the previous week, according to the report.
Continuing claims – which are considered a barometer of the unemployment situation – dropped slightly to 5.3 million nationally, the labor department said
Overall, 1.3 million jobless workers filed new unemployment claims last week.
This week, Congress approved a $900 billion coronavirus relief bill that extends two federal programs to stretch jobless benefits for another 11 weeks, averting a fiscal disaster for millions of unemployed. The plan also adds another $300 to all weekly unemployment benefits. President Donald Trump has signals he might veto the bill is his concerns aren’t addressed by lawmakers.
The PUA program, which extended unemployment benefits to the independent contractors and “gig” economy workers, and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, were authorized under the CARES Act. Both programs will expire on Dec. 26 unless Trump signs the bill.
Maine has paid out more than $1.7 billion in federal and state unemployment benefits since mid-March, when the COVID-19 outbreak began.
The state’s jobless rate fell to 5% in November, according to figures released by the Maine Department of Labor.
