Jobless aid tops $1 billion in Maine as laid-off workers prepare to resume job searches - Press Herald

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Benefits paid to unemployed Maine workers surpassed $1 billion last week, as work search requirements are set to resume for those who have lost their jobs.

Roughly 2,800 Mainers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, and more than 87,000 total state and federal benefit claims were paid out, according to the Maine Department of Labor.

Since March 15, the state has paid out $1.03 billion in unemployment aid, 14 times the amount unemployed residents received in all of 2019, the department reported Thursday.

The massive outpouring of benefits payments reflects the unprecedented scale of sudden joblessness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but is also inflated by an added $600 per week federal benefit that is set to expire on July 25.

Mainers who have lost their jobs will also be expected to start looking for work next week in order to keep receiving benefits. Searching for work is a standard requirement for jobless assistance, but people receiving benefits have been exempt since March because stay-at-home orders and forced business closures made looking for work unrealistic.

People who have lost their jobs permanently will have to begin logging their work search activities starting July 12, and need to include those activities in their weekly claim going forward, according to the labor department.

Nationally, more than 1.3 million initial unemployment claims were filed last week, a historically high pace that shows that many employers are still laying people off in the face of a resurgent coronavirus.