LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It's been a month since the additional $600 weekly unemployment benefits stopped coming in, but a replacement from the federal government has just been approved for Pennsylvania.
It's part of the Lost Wages Assistance Program, and it was created in the beginning of August by an executive order from the president.
Although the weekly benefits have been cut in half from $600 to $300 for the thousands of Pennsylvanians who don't know when they'll return to work, it's better than nothing.
Many people who have lost their jobs during the pandemic have spent the last few weeks trying to figure out how they were going to make ends meet after the extra $600 they were receiving from the federal government each week stopped showing up in their bank accounts.
Fortunately, Pennsylvania just received $1.5 billion from the federal government to fund a $300 weekly unemployment benefit.
Newswatch 16 talked to a man from the Williamsport area who Wanted to remain anonymous. He was just recently furloughed until the beginning of January. He says the $300 will help cover the cost of the insurance he lost.
"My insurance is $400 a month, so it'll knock that out of the park and then some."
We also spoke to a woman from Dupont who wanted to remain anonymous as well. She was furloughed while her place of employment was closed, but she was anticipating getting her job back when it reopened. Instead, she just learned a few weeks ago that she was laid off completely.
The unemployment payments she's been receiving don't cover half of what she was making, so the $600 weekly benefit was definitely a much-needed boost.
"That was actually making up the difference, so when that ended, I'm at the point now where I'm donating plasma for extra money so I can make bills meet here."
She says the $300 weekly benefit will help, but she doesn't know how long it will last.
And aside from not knowing how long the benefits will last, there's a lot that's still unclear, such as when people will start to see the money and whether you will automatically receive the $300 benefit if you were previously receiving the $600 a week.
The state is still working to get the program up and running, but the benefits will be retroactive to August 1.