Around 16,000 Iowans who stopped receiving unemployment benefits since June 2 will start receiving more payments soon. An extension of emergency unemployment compensation was approved by Congress this week and Kerry Koonce, with Iowa Workforce Development, says eligible claimants in Iowa will be paid next week. “We’ll probably be the first state in the nation to get our payments out,” Koonce said. “Most states are expecting two to four weeks until they get it out but we’ve been anticipating (the extension) and getting our programming ready to go.”
Koonce says most people who stopped receiving benefits continued to file weekly reports which will speed delivery of their payments. “We’re going to push a payroll out on Monday,” Koonce said. “If they have direct deposit or the debit card, the payment should arrive Thursday or Friday. If they receive a paper check, those checks will go out on Wednesday and then it will just depend where they’re at in Iowa on the delivery time.”
Claimants who have not filed weekly reports since benefits were exhausted can begin adding those weeks next Tuesday. Those Iowans report their past weeks though an 800 number or online. Congress extended the benefits program through November 30.