CARES Act unemployment benefits set to expire

The US Department of Labor Building on March 26, 2020, in Washington, DC. – (Photo by ALEX EDELMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 4:20 PM PT – Saturday, December 26, 2020

Federal unemployment benefits, which were created through the CARES Act, are coming to a halt.

Both the ‘Pandemic Unemployment Compensation’ and the ‘Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation’ expire Saturday. These programs provided assistance to millions of Americans, covering mainly long-term unemployed workers as well as gig-workers.

The hard cut-off of benefits could mean a lack of options for those with a lack of work.

“I lost my job entirely late April and it was really sad to see that awesome small business go,” Minnesota resident Cole Stevens said. “‘Grind Coffee and Creamer’ in Bloomington was all high school workers there and we lost that business…and so I did what anybody would do–I applied for unemployment benefits.”

The first program helped unemployed Americans who are not usually eligible for regular insurance benefits, such as business owners and the self-employed.

The second program provided up to 13 weeks of additional benefits to individuals who previously collected state or federal unemployment compensation, but exhausted those benefits.