Extra $300 Weekly Unemployment Benefits in the Works for Minnesotans

For thousands of unemployed Minnesotans who are struggling financially during the pandemic, more help could be on the way.

Recently, Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan announced that an extra $300 in new weekly unemployment benefits is in the works. The update comes a month after a $600 weekly boost in federal unemployment expired.

To get unemployed more support, the state applied to FEMA’s Lost Wages Assistance program. Nationally, FEMA has been authorized to spend up to $44 billion in disaster relief funds for the lost wages program.  

At a press conference, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan said the extra benefit is important and will provide relief, but it doesn’t reflect the entire burden faced by Minnesotans.

“What we need is our federal partners, to come together to provide well-planned and thorough relief,” she said.

While the additional benefit is not expected to last long, it is retroactive to when the $600 boost ended. That’s the week ending Aug. 1.

If approved quickly, the first payments could begin at the end of August, or the beginning of the week of Sept. 6. It depends on how quickly the U.S. Treasury transfers funds.

Over 900,000 Minnesotans have applied for unemployment insurance since the pandemic began, with most of those applicants having never applied for unemployment before.

Those currently receiving unemployment benefits do not need to reapply or do anything other than complete their weekly benefits request to receive the additional $300 a week.

More information can be found of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development’s website.