Donald Trump’s administration is threatening to withdraw federal funding for unemployment assistance in all 50 states as part of the president’s nationwide campaign against “fraud” in government spending.
In a letter to the governors of 53 states and territories, acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling warned that the federal government would use “every available tool” to combat “waste, fraud and abuse” within state-run unemployment insurance programs, including “withholding administrative funds from states” for the first time in history.
There is no single national program for unemployment support, though the federal government partners with state agencies to support temporary financial assistance to out-of-work Americans. Nearly 2 million people are currently receiving those benefits, while roughly 229,000 people are filing initial jobless claims every week, according to the Labor Department.
Maybe it depends on what state you’re in, but I have used it between jobs after being laid off. I was actually very surprised how well it worked. This was durning Biden’s term.
I used to work for a ski shop. Almost everyone would get laid off in March, rehired in August, and collect seasonal unemployment between. The owner would argue that he doesn’t give sick time or PTO because everyone already got four months off paid vacation per year.
I’m 50. I’ve sure never had access to such a thing. I’ve lived in multiple states.