Unemployed workers will be eligible for an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits, the N.J. Labor Department said Wednesday. Until now, workers maxed out at 39 weeks.
The news is a relief for the many thousands of workers who are about to — or who already have — exhausted their state and federal unemployment benefits.
“The state extension kicks in after claimants exhaust up to 26 weeks of state unemployment plus 13 weeks of federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC),” the Labor Department said. “The additional 20 weeks of benefits brings to 59 the maximum number of weeks an eligible claimant may receive in benefits at this time.”
Workers will be automatically enrolled into extended benefits as their federal extension ends, the agency said. They do not need to contact an agent or reapply for benefits.
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The benefits extension is kicking in because the state has hit benchmarks set by the federal government, including a high rate of unemployment, which was 15.2 percent in May, the state said.
“New Jersey went from being at almost full employment last winter to double-digit unemployment almost overnight,” said Labor Commissioner Robert Asaro-Angelo. “These triggers are put in place for just such eventualities – so that claimants have access to an income safety net for an extended period of time during times of high unemployment.”
All states except South Dakota have begun offering extended benefits, the Labor Department said.
Gig workers, independent contractors and the self-employed, who were eligible for 39 weeks of federal benefits, will not get the full extension. They will receive seven additional weeks from the state for a total of 46 weeks, the agency said.
Through the week ending June 20, nearly 1.3 million workers have filed for unemployment benefits in New Jersey since the coronavirus pandemic began in mid-March. Over that time, the Labor Department paid out $8.2 billion in state and federal benefits to eligible workers.
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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at [email protected].
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