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Texas applies for federal funding to increase unemployment benefits

The governor's office said, if granted, the funding will provide an additional $300 per week in benefits for qualifying Texans.

The video above is about Texas unemployment claims. 

Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that the Texas Workforce Commission has applied for additional unemployment benefit funding made available through a presidential executive order. 

The governor's office said, if granted, the funding will provide an additional $300 per week in benefits for qualifying Texans through President Donald Trump's Lost Wage Assistance Executive Order.

The number of laid-off workers seeking U.S. unemployment benefits rose to 1.1 million last week after two weeks of declines, evidence that many employers are still slashing jobs as the coronavirus bedevils the U.S. economy.

The governor's office says eligible Texans should receive the additional benefits on their first payment request on or after Aug. 23. The funds will be backdated to the benefit week ending Aug. 1.

The president's order scales back the $600 per week federal unemployment payments provided for in the CARES Act, which was approved by Congress in March. 

That funding expired in July. 

RELATED: Unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Texans could be cut by more than half as federal help dries up

Many unemployed Texans were eligible for those additional payments from the first week of April through the week ending July 25.  

After that, the maximum payment unemployed Texans could receive was $521 per week. The $300 authorized through the executive order would be in addition to regular unemployment benefits.

Anyone who is currently receiving unemployment through the Texas Workforce Commission should continue to request payments as normal, Abbott's office said.

The latest national unemployment figures suggest that the economy is still weak, despite recent gains as some businesses reopen and some sectors like housing and manufacturing have rebounded. 

A rising number of people who have lost jobs say they consider their loss to be permanent.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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