Governor Greg Abbott is Ending COVID-19 Unemployment Benefits in Texas

Gov. Abbott is ending the benefits to spark Texans to get back to work.

According to NewsWest 9, starting June 26, 2021 the federal unemployment compensation related to COVID-19 will be coming to an end along with the extra $300 that is being added to those benefits.

"The governor has announced that as of June 26 of this year, Texas will stop participating in the pandemic unemployment programs through the ARPA which is the American Recovery Plan Act," said James Bernsen, Texas Workforce Commission Deputy Communications Director. "If they are on the current state unemployment benefits, they will get that. They wouldn’t get a $300 additional if they are on a federal extension in that state, however. Those benefits would expire. Now, they may be eligible for state benefits. It really kind of depends on a case-by-case basis."

This is all in an effort to get the people of Texas to start filling all the jobs that are currently looking for people to apply.

"There are actually more jobs out there than we have people looking for them right now in Texas. We have about 1 million jobs available in Texas right now so there are a lot of opportunities out there. A lot of people have been holding back and it made sense during the pandemic to be a little cautious there," said Bernsen.

Locally, the unemployment rate is a lot more than it was before the pandemic.

Both Midland and Ector counties were sitting at 2% unemployment before COVID-19 hit, and now Midland County is at 7% and Ector County is at 11% unemployment, the state average is at 6.9%.

"What we’re seeing is Texas as a whole is coming back. We’re seeing a lot of those industries coming back so I think you know you’re going to see some movement on those numbers as well. Obviously we want to get back to where we were at the beginning of the pandemic," Bernsen said.

The Texas Workforce Commission has resources to help you get any of the thousands of jobs available around the state if you are looking to get back to work.

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