Idaho unemployment numbers trigger rare extended benefits

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — So many Idaho workers lost jobs so quickly this year due to the coronavirus pandemic that an unemployment extended benefits program will go into effect that was last used during the Great Recession in 2009.

The state Department of Labor said Wednesday that the program will give people receiving weekly unemployment payments up to 13 weeks of additional unemployment insurance beyond the normal 20-week maximum period for payments.

Idaho won’t pay for the extra unemployment payments because a federal program called the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation that’s part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus rescue package approved by Congress in March offers the extended benefits.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

I agree to these terms.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.