Arizona’s maximum unemployment payment is just $240 per week, the second-lowest rate in the nation. But, starting this week, payments should more than double for out-of-work Arizonans.

The $900 billion congressional pandemic relief package signed by the president at the end of December extended some unemployment benefit programs. The bill provided federal funding for an extra $300 per week in unemployment payments on top of regular state payments. Arizona's Department of Economic Security said it started distributing that additional benefit to unemployed Arizonans on Jan. 3. The extra payments are set to last 11 weeks. 

The department reports nearly 200,000 Arizonans are claiming some form of unemployment assistance.

The relief package also extended the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program for freelancers and gig workers 11 more weeks. That program had been set to expire at the end of December. Nearly 80,000 Arizonans are claiming that benefit.

→ Months Into the Pandemic, Frustration And Fear Persist For Out-Of-Work Arizonans