Questions linger over fed jobless assistance

N.M. has no guidance on Trump’s executive order adding $400 a week to unemployment benefits

President Donald Trump recently authorized an extension of enhanced benefits for unemployed Americans, but state officials are unsure what that means for New Mexico.

Trump’s four executive orders include one that would add $400 per week in additional unemployment benefits through the end of the year. That came as a supplement of $600 per week in jobless benefits expired at the end of July.

Yet several days later, the state Department of Workforce Solutions said it hadn’t received full guidance from the federal government and still had many unanswered questions about how the memorandum would be implemented.

“How much overall money is available, how much will be allocated per state, and how long will it last for?” Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley asked Tuesday.

Perhaps the biggest pending question is whether states will be able to access federal funds to extend unemployment benefits without spending their own money.

According to the executive order, the federal government would supply $300 per week in extra unemployment benefits, with states required to contribute an additional $100 per week.

Some governors expressed alarm over that requirement, as states across the nation are strapped for funds during the COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders have taken a toll on their budgets.

But Sunday, Trump said it was possible some states could receive the funds without contributing any of their own money.

That lack of clarity led to more questions from McCamley.

“May states implement a program without a match, as was indicated by the president Sunday?” he asked. “If so, what will the criteria be for this program?”

New Mexico would need around $42 million per week in order to give eligible residents additional payments of $300, McCamley said.

He added it was unclear whether the federal government will send states that money in advance, or whether New Mexico will need to spend it out of its own coffers and then get it reimbursed.

Asked whether New Mexico would supply $100 per week from its own funds in order to disburse a total of $400, McCamley said the state was waiting for federal guidelines in order to make a decision.

“We are still awaiting more information on the specifics of the program before examining strategies on how to proceed,” he said.

While New Mexico is open to any program that provides more resources, the state would favor a program passed by Congress that would fully fund additional unemployment benefits, McCamley said.

“Though we will be exploring this memorandum, we would prefer a full and extensive program that would be passed through Congress and fully fund enhanced unemployment programs, give our schools the tools they need to reopen safely, and assist our state and local governments with their

extensive financial issues,” he said.

Trump signed his executive orders after Congress failed to reach an agreement on a new economic stimulus bill that would include extending jobless benefits.

New claims for unemployment benefits in New Mexico fell 17.3 percent to 5,997 for the week ending Aug. 1, the lowest since July 4, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and state Department of Workforce Solutions.

The state had 139,489 people on the unemployment rolls, while Santa Fe County had 11,728.

New Mexico’s real gross domestic product is forecast to have contracted 29.4 percent in the second quarter as the state grappled with the impact of COVID-19, according to a Moody’s Analytics report cited by state officials last week.