Most unemployed Mainers will lose benefits as virus spikes

The majority of people on unemployment — about 29,600, according to the Maine Department of Labor — will lose benefits when federal programs expire on Dec. 26. Between 4,000 and 6,000 more are expected to run out of state benefits by the end of the year, the agency said. As of late October, more than 25 percent of Maine households had difficulties paying their usual household expenses, according to the most recent survey from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“We know that a lot of the folks who are most affected by the downturn are low-wage workers to begin with, so these are folks who need every dollar they’re getting,” said James Myall, a policy analyst with the liberal Maine Center for Economic Policy.

Click here to read the full story, first published November 17, 2020, in the Bangor Daily News.