TRENTON, N.J. (1010 WINS) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced the state will not extend pandemic unemployment benefits beyond the Sept. 4 deadline.
Murphy said he can not extend the benefits because it would cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars each week to extend the deadline.
His administration estimates that continuing the benefits could cost the state "at least $314 million per week and perhaps hundreds of millions of dollars more.”
“The proper way to extend federal UI benefits is through federal action, not a patchwork of state ones," Murphy said. "And it should be noted here that no state is extending this benefit beyond Sept. 4."
Murphy said he understands how this decision will impact families but there are other investments the state has made for families still reeling from the pandemic's economic effects.
“We recognize the impact that this will have on some families facing unemployment issues," he added. "To support New Jerseyans through suffering through the economic impacts of the pandemic we have invested in rent-assistance, food-assistance, child-care assistance, health-care affordability assistance, and other assistance programs we have set up and which are funded through billions of dollars of federal coronavirus relief programs."
NJ.com reports Murphy's announcement will affect about 500,000 people in the Garden State, relying on the extended benefits throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Murphy praised the state's unemployment response, granting $33.7 billion into the accounts of nearly 1.6 million New Jerseyans with "generous" benefits including equal pay protections, expanded paid family leave — amongst "the strongest in the nation."
New Jersey received $6.2 billion from the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The current unemployment rate is 7.3%, where at the height of the pandemic the state saw 16.6% unemployment in April 2020.
Murphy said "a strong recovery is on the way."