DEED warns Minnesotans on unemployment that $600 federal payment ends in July
(FOX 9) - The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development alerted Minnesotans receiving unemployment insurance benefits Thursday that the $600 additional federal payment is scheduled to end this month.
The payments were authorized by Congress in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27. The $600 payment was additional compensation on top of a person’s regular unemployment benefits. Minnesotans receiving unemployment did not have to do anything to get the additional federal payment—it was automatically applied to their bank accounts or unemployment debit cards.
DEED says that unless the program is extended by the federal government, the last week the $600 additional payment will be paid in Minnesota is the week ending July 25.
Minnesotans who remain eligible for regular unemployment benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) will continue to receive their regular payments each week after that – but benefit payments will no longer include the additional $600 FPUC payment.
“This additional weekly payment has provided critical support to hundreds of thousands of Minnesotans whose employment has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Economic Commissioner Steve Grove said in a statement. “We know that this continues to be an exceptionally difficult time, and the loss of the additional $600 will only make life more challenging for families across our state."
DEED also released the unemployment numbers for June on Thursday. The state's unemloyment rate ticked down to 8.6 percent in June as businesses started to reopen, down from 9.9 percent in May--the highest in the state's recorded history.
The unemployment rate was 2.9 percent in March before the economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic began.
State economic officials say they are working to connect Minnesotans receiving unemployment benefits to state community services and additional resources. Information on those resources can be found on the DEED website.