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| DATE | 2020-12-09 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
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| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] NYC Freelancers on the endge
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Unemployment Benefits Set to Expire for More Than 1.5 Million
Freelancers in New York Area
Kate King
6-8 minutes
More than 1.5 million freelance, self-employed and gig workers across
the tri-state area will lose unemployment assistance later this month
unless Congress votes to renew the program, according to state labor
officials.
In New York, about half of the 2.4 million people receiving unemployment
payments in mid-November were part of a federal coronavirus-relief
program that extended benefits to the self-employed and other previously
ineligible workers. The program, known as Pandemic Unemployment
Assistance, began in the spring.
Cutting off assistance to these recipients would hit the broader
economy, said James Parrott, an economist at the New School.
“You take that away, you’re taking away a lot of consumer spending,” Mr.
Parrott said. “That shows up to the greatest extent in lower-income
neighborhoods with a lot of small businesses.”
In New York City alone, Mr. Parrott estimates, consumer spending would
decrease at least $800 million in January if Congress doesn’t renew
unemployment benefits for the self-employed.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo sent a letter to Congressional leaders last month
asking them to extend federal unemployment benefits through September.
“Many critical support programs that were put in place earlier this year
have already expired, and the few remaining ones are set to expire just
days after Christmas,” Mr. Cuomo wrote. “This is simply unacceptable and
must be rectified.”
Previous efforts in Congress to extend unemployment benefits have
floundered, and a federal program that provided $600 in extra weekly
payments expired earlier this fall. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D.,
Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said last
week they would try to pass another relief package for unemployed
workers, along with legislation to keep the government funded past the
current Dec. 11 deadline.
Sara Wass, a freelance photographer living in Brooklyn, has been
receiving unemployment benefits since mid-April. Her current weekly
payments total $349, not enough to cover her rent and other bills, which
amount to about $2,000, not including her $709 monthly premiums for
health insurance.
“The $600 a week was a saving grace and it was the only way I was able
to pay for my apartment this summer,” said Ms. Wass, 28 years old. “Now
I’m just going through my savings.”
Sara Wass, a freelance photographer living in Brooklyn, says she won't
be able to pay her rent if Congress doesn’t extend federal unemployment
benefits.
Photo: Sara Wass
Ms. Wass is looking for work but has found only a couple of small
assignments. One was working as a saleswoman for three weeks at a pop-up
shop that sold expensive leather jackets.
“They paid me about $18 an hour, plus a leather jacket that I don’t
need,” she said. “I would cry on the subway, especially when someone was
near me without a mask. I’m basically doing jobs that I would say no to
normally.”
If Congress doesn’t extend federal unemployment benefits, Ms. Wass said,
she won’t be able to pay her rent. She is considering subletting her
apartment and moving in with friends or family.
In New Jersey, about 312,000 freelance and self-employed residents are
currently receiving federal unemployment benefits, according to the
state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. More than 700,000
people in the state were receiving unemployment benefits across all
state and federal programs as of mid-November.
Nearly 38,000 of the more than 187,000 people receiving unemployment in
Connecticut last month were covered under the program for freelance and
self-employed workers, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
November’s Jobs Report May Signal Cooling Economic Recovery
0:00 / 2:43
1:29
November’s Jobs Report May Signal Cooling Economic Recovery
November’s Jobs Report May Signal Cooling Economic Recovery
Employment data showed the pace of hiring slowing substantially in
November. WSJ’s Eric Morath breaks down why the labor-market recovery
has lost its momentum. Photo: Jeff Chiu/Associated Press
In addition, hundreds of thousands of residents across the New York
region are receiving benefits through another federal measure, the
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program, also set to expire
this month unless Congress renews it. That program provides an
additional 13 weeks of payments to people who exhaust traditional state
unemployment benefits, which end after 26 weeks.
If that program expires, these recipients will continue to receive
payments under yet another federal program, Extended Benefits, but the
overall duration of their eligibility for assistance will be shortened.
Professional musician Aaron Korn, 37, who plays the French horn, has
been receiving unemployment payments since Broadway theaters shut down
in March. He continues to teach one day a week at the Juilliard School,
and his wife, Kiwon Nahm, a violinist, has a part-time job at a private
school. With unemployment payments, their income is about 50% lower than
before the pandemic. If that assistance ends, Mr. Korn estimates, they
would be bringing in about 20% of their previous income.
With theaters and other performance spaces not expected to reopen before
June, at the earliest, Mr. Korn said the family won’t be able to stay in
their Harlem apartment unless Congress extends unemployment benefits. He
said they would likely move in temporarily with Ms. Nahm’s parents on
Long Island.
“The stress is bad, but our kids take up a lot of our time and we try
not to think about what we can’t control,” said Mr. Korn, who has two
young children.
The Negotiations Over Pandemic Relief
--
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