Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham issued the following announcement on May 8.
The CARES Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. By April 25, New Mexico was one of only seven states that were issuing payments on all three federally funded programs under the Act, including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).
As of May 6th, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions (NMDWS) has received a total of 21,295 PUA applications. Of those, 16,159 have received payment, a rate of 75%. This rate has continued to rise throughout the rollout and includes applicants this week that may not be eligible for payment until next week.
More than $258 million has been paid out to claimants under PUA, PEUC, and FPUC. Combined with regular state unemployment benefit payments, NMDWS has so far paid out a total of $427 million in benefits.
New Mexico’s maximum benefit of $511 per week ($461 plus $25 for up to 2 dependents) is higher than all but 17 other states, making New Mexico one of the top states providing the utmost support for its citizens.
“Governor Lujan Grisham has asked all state agencies to use every tool available to keep people home and safe,” said Bill McCamley, NMDWS Secretary. “We thank New Mexicans for their patience and our promise remains that we will do everything we can to make sure our neighbors are getting the resources they need so we can all get through this together.”
Description of the CARES Act programs:
- Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – Additional $600 per week for every Unemployment recipient.
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – Allows self-employed and those otherwise not eligible for standard Unemployment to receive benefits.
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – Provides an additional 13 weeks of emergency unemployment insurance for individuals who remain unemployed after they have exhausted their standard 26 weeks of unemployment benefits.
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