Extra $300 payments for unemployed New Mexicans end this week

Sep. 17--It was half-nice while it lasted, but the extra $300 weekly unemployment payment through the federal Lost Wages Assistance Program ends this week, the state Department of Workforce Solutions announced Wednesday.

The program replaced a pandemic-related $600-a-week federal supplement to jobless benefits that had expired. It was launched through an executive order by President Donald Trump and funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

While the $300 payments were expected to continue until late December, the program was funded for just six weeks.

The extra aid to New Mexico's unemployed workers came in the past two weeks -- a $1,500 payment last week that covered five weeks of benefits and a $300 payment this week.

FEMA told state officials the money allocated for the program had run out.

"We continue to strongly ask that Congress and the president come up with comprehensive stimulus for our communities with help for workers, schools, businesses, and state and local governments," Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley said in a news release.

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