FILE PHOTO: People gather at the entrance for the New York State Department of Labor offices, which closed to the public due to the coronavirus disease outbreak in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, U.S., March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File PhotoWASHINGTON: Optician Ali Nelson sent the final few orders of eyeglasses to clients last week before her Washington DC-based store closed to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Many of the millions of Americans bracing for life on unemployment benefits are doing so for the first time in their lives as retail stores, movie theaters, restaurants and other small business shut their doors amid the outbreak. Even if the bill does pass this week, it is not clear when consumers will get cash. The surge in unemployment claims overwhelmed some states and led to processing delays. Payments of US$1,200 per low and mid-income adult, promised by the White House, may take the tax agency months to process.
However, the generosity of the US program, which is administered by states, varies across the country. The average weekly benefit was US$377 in the fourth quarter of 2019, with averages ranging from slightly above US$200 in some states to more than US$500 in others. The changes being considered this week, which broaden access to the program and increase payments, highlight the holes in the economic safety net, economists say.
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