NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The spread of coronavirus caused unemployment applications to reach record highs in Tennessee, and workers across the state said they could use some extra cash. The federal government, through the state, will start giving it on Wednesday.
Tennessee started distributing the first installment of the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefit to banks and other financial institutions on Tuesday, according to a release from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
For those who have applied for state unemployment, it should start appearing in people's accounts on Wednesday, along with regular benefits. The number of payments is expected to increase through the week and will likely exceed 150,000, according to the department.
This week's payment will include one installment of the FPUC. However, officials said that the state will give qualifying people retroactive pay back to March 29. Those installments will be included in upcoming payments.
The federal benefit payments will end after payments are sent out for a person's last week of unemployment, before July 31, 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Last week, Tennessee paid out unemployment benefits to 114,000 people, according to department officials. Those payments did not include cash from the FPUC.
A new unemployment report on filings for the last week will be made public Thursday.
The pandemic compensation comes as a result of the federal CARES Act, which created several programs designed to mitigate economic damage from the spread of coronavirus.
People should also start seeing economic impact payments from the CARES Act. Some already have gotten those by automatic deposit if they've filed recent income tax forms.
People who filed as single without any dependents and who have an adjusted gross income of less than $75,000, will get a $1,200 payment. Married couples will receive $2,400, and families will receive $500 for each child.