How $600 unemployment benefits to jobless people helped rescue the American economy

Yuqing Liu/Business Insider

• At the end of July, the extra $600 weekly unemployment insurance benefit established by the CARES Act in March expired, immediately slashing pay for millions of out-of-work Americans. 
• The benefit not only supported those out of work due to the coronavirus crisis, but powered the early months of the economic recovery from the pandemic recession, economists say. 
• Now, Congress is fighting over the next round of stimulus. In the meantime, millions of Americans are wondering how they'll make ends meet.
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When the additional $600 weekly unemployment benefit expired at the end of July, Charissa Ward, a furloughed Disney server in Florida, knew she wouldn't be able to cover all of her expenses. 

Now, she will receive only the Florida state benefit, a maximum of $275 per week before taxes and among the lowest in America. Ward has been out of work since mid-March, officially on furlough since April, and doesn't know when she'll be able to go back. See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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See Also:

• Trump is threatening to enact a payroll-tax cut through executive order. But that doesn't mean workers will see extra money in their paychecks if it happens.
• Here's how the abrupt end of the $600 federal unemployment benefit will wreak havoc on jobless Americans
• Mitch McConnell just opened the door for an extension of the $600 unemployment boost — if Trump supports it