Next steps for people who have relied on unemployment payments during the pandemic

The CARES Act supplemental unemployment pay, part of the COVID-19 relief package, comes to an end July 31.

However, all states have stopped paying after the weekend of July 25-26 and will not resume payments unless Congress chooses to extend the aid.

Petroviak.thanks for joining us.if you're unemployed you probably already received your final 600-dollar unemployment check under the national cares act.while congress debates a new act that could include less money..fox 55's jeremy masukevich talked to local job experts about the impact it could have on our region.

We really didn't know how all of this was going to be playing out.

I think a lot of us were hoping that by july the economy would have recovered.rachel blakeman with purdue fort wayne university says some people may have put off looking for new employment during the pandemic sot rachel there is a possibility that the way this payment was structured that people could earn more on unemployment then they would have learned in a regular paycheck.

Because the supplemental unemployment pay...part of the cares act coronavirus relief was enough to get by.sot rachel 4:14when we look at it from why this was implemented part of it is to keep the economy flowing.

People were buying groceries with this money, people were paying rent, making car payments...both blakeman and rick farrant with northeast indiana works say the extra $600 a week served well as a temporary solution however, most recipients won't have any of those funds left to fall back on.sot rick i would never want to minimize the impact the extra 600 has for people but it's also worth noting that employers in ne indiana have begun hiring again in a big way.as part of the cares act ... northeast indiana works recently received a grant worth two point one million dollars toward workforce development training.

Sot farrant a lot of this is short term training.

We are not talking about years here, we are talking about getting into a program that in a matter of weeks can give them certifications or skills that will give them well paying jobs farrant says the funding couldn't have come at a better timenat rick we have had a flood of employers posting jobs in the last two or three weeks.

He says not only are more jobs available, there is also an easier path to achieve the skills to land employment.

Farrant says getting the skills now will provide financial stability for people moving forward should the pandemic continue longer than expected.sot rick should this pandemic last for a very long time, which it may, people can put themselves in a position where maybe they have a little more job security then they had the last time around.

In fort wayne, jeremy masukevich, fox 55 news farrant says the 2-point-1 million in cares act funds must be spent to develop the workforce in northeast indiana by the end of 20-20.to learn how both employers and unemployed people looking for work can get involved, click on this story at