With the coronavirus leaving millions out of work, individuals filing for unemployment have been eligible for an additional $600 per week. The $600 unemployment bump will expire on July 31.
The coronavirus pandemic has left millions upon millions of Americans in dire economic straits. With lockdown measures enacted across much of the country, stores were forced to close and, in turn, left millions of people stuck at home without a job or any chance of securing a paycheck.
As a result, the number of unemployment claims in the country skyrocketed to record levels. As of last month, more than 40 million Americans are filing for unemployment each week, which is the largest figure the country has seen in decades. As a point of contrast, the number of new weekly unemployment claims earlier just before the coronavirus pandemic hit the country was somewhere in the 210,000 range.
