Hundreds of thousands of Arizonans are out of work. That includes more than 40,000 who made initial claims for unemployment insurance last week. But the governor isn’t planning any changes to the state’s unemployment system while Congress remains stalled on another relief package.
Arizona’s maximum unemployment benefit of just $240 per week is the nation’s second-lowest. But in a news conference Thursday, Ducey said it’s up to the federal government, not the state, to aid individuals in the pandemic economy.
“We have state benefits that will remain in place, and if the federal government is going to step up, if Congress ever wanted to do its job through the last six weeks, we’d be here to work with them," Ducey said.
The governor pointed out more than $11 billion has been distributed to unemployed Arizonans during the pandemic. But the majority of the money that has been paid so far was federally funded, from the extra $600 per week in benefits that came from the CARES Act. That funding expired at the end of July.
→ Months Into the Pandemic, Frustration And Fear Persist For Out-Of-Work Arizonans
