Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb said Hoosiers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own collect, on average, $280 a week in state unemployment benefits.
He observed that will increase to nearly $600 a week with the $300 a week in additional federal support.
$990 allotments expired
Out of work Hoosiers were receiving an average of $880 per week, up to a maximum of $990 per week, prior to the expiration of the $600 a week in supplemental federal unemployment assistance provided through the CARES Act.
Changing to weekly disaster relief payments reduces the assistance provided to the average unemployed Hoosier worker by 34%.
In addition, Payne acknowledged he doesn’t know how long the $300 a week payment will be available, since the president only allocated a maximum of $44 billion for the program.
Payne anticipates that pot of money quickly will be depleted as more states sign-on to participate in the program, or the funds are reclaimed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency if there is a natural disaster during the ongoing hurricane season.
“When you look at the total dollar amount that’s (previously) gone out state by state, that money could go pretty quickly,” Payne said.
