Valera Golovniov / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images
$ 300 vs. $ 400 per week
A $ 300 weekly increase in weekly unemployment benefits would come in addition to the state’s standard benefits.
Workers received $ 324 a week in state benefits, on average, in the third quarter of last year, according to the most recent data from the United States Department of Labor. That aid replaced about 38% of his average salary before the layoff, which was $ 843 a week.
An extra $ 300 per week would increase that replacement rate to 74%, according to an analysis by CNBC.
A weekly increase of $ 400 would have increased it, to 85%.
In comparison, a $ 600 per week increase offered by the CARES Act last year replaced 100% of lost wages for the average unemployed worker.
State differences
The $ 300 supplement would go further in some states, especially those that tend to pay lower benefits.
In Mississippi, for example, the average worker received $ 190 in weekly benefits in January, the lowest of all states, according to the United States Department of Labor. An extra $ 300 per week more than double your current quota.
Massachusetts, on the other hand, paid the average person $ 521 a week, the highest amount among states in January. An increase of $ 300 in Massachusetts would offer a larger overall payment ($ 851 per week) compared to the Mississippi worker, but would not double the initial aid.
More than 18 million Americans were receiving unemployment insurance in mid-February, according to the Department of Labor.