Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
Those who are cleared to get unemployment benefits will be seeing heftier payments as soon as next week.
The New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions announced on Monday that $600 – regardless of how much someone made at their previous job – will be added to an individual’s unemployment payments starting the week of April 20.
New Mexicans who are approved for unemployment will see the additional $600 a week added to their unemployment check through July 31, according to a news release.
Residents who already get unemployment checks don’t have to complete any steps or applications to get the money, according to the department. Weekly eligibility check-ins are still required.
Stacy Johnston, the agency’s acting public information officer, said it takes two to four weeks to get the first payment after approval. She said that, overall, people aren’t having to wait longer than normal for their checks even though unemployment claims have surged due to COVID-19.
Johnston told the Journal that the additional money is for people who have already been approved and for future applicants.
It also applies to those who have filed for unemployment due to a cut in hours.
Johnston added that an individual is no longer eligible for unemployment if they earn more than their weekly benefit amount before the $600 addition.
The increased unemployment funding, officially called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, is afforded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act or the “CARES Act.”
Additional dollars to be added to unemployment payments
