Arizona ending $300 weekly unemployment benefits July 10

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - Federal Pandemic Unemployment benefits are coming to an end this weekend.

The Arizona Center for Economic Progress (AZ Center) says $300 a week benefits will slow Arizona's economic recovery.

More than 143,000 workers in Arizona will lose income due to Arizona Governor Doug Ducey's decision to take the weekly benefits from unemployed Arizonans on Saturday, July 10, in a time of persistent hardship. AZ Center says more than 242,000 workers remain unemployed.

“For many Arizona families, the recovery is still far away. Families are still struggling to put food on the table, pay for housing, and keep up with monthly bills at rates far higher than before COVID struck our state,” said Andrew Sugrue, Assistant Director for Policy & Advocacy at the Arizona Center for Economic Progress.

Sugrue adds, “The $300 federal UI supplement was a lifeline that helped many Arizonans stay afloat during the crisis, and now that lifeline has been taken away, with the harm falling disproportionately on Black and brown families. This crisis has revealed problems that already existed in our unemployment system, which left out too many families, particularly families of color. We need our Congressional delegation to strengthen UI at the federal level to fill in the gaps so that more Arizonans can get back on track and share in the recovery.”