Almost 300,000 Coloradans will lose unemployment benefits after Christmas even if a new federal stimulus passes

 

Unemployment programs meant to support people who lost their jobs because of COVID-19 will end next week, leaving hundreds of thousands without aid during one of the most critical points in the pandemic.

Colorado’s Department of Labor and Employment says about 280,000 people who were eligible for or receiving benefits will stop getting benefits on Dec. 26. That’s the last payable week for federal programs set up through the CARES Act.

Gig workers, independent contractors and people who are self-employed, and were eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, will see their aid end. In addition, people who were on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which gave workers an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits will also stop receiving them.

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Congress might pass another stimulus bill before Christmas. But even if a stimulus does pass in the next week, it will take several more weeks before the state can start getting that aid out to people, said Cher Haavind, chief communications officer for the department. That means a lag in benefits even if Congress acts.

Read more via Colorado Public Radio News.

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