IDES Reminds Public That Federal Pandemic Unemployment Programs Ending Soon

By Jeremy Coumbes on August 21, 2021 at 8:50am

The Illinois Department of Employment Security is reminding claimants that federal unemployment programs are coming to an end on September 4th.

These programs include:

  •  Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)

o Provided access to 100% federally funded unemployment benefits to individuals not traditionally eligible to receive unemployment benefits, such self-employed workers.

  •  Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

o Provided an additional weekly $300 supplemental payment in 100% federally funded benefits to claimants who received at least $1 of regular or federal unemployment benefits.

  •  Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)

o Provided additional weeks of 100% federally funded unemployment benefits to claimants who exhausted all eligible weeks of benefits in the state’s regular unemployment system.

  •  Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)

o Provided an additional weekly $100 supplemental payment in 100% federally funded benefits to eligible claimants who earned at least $5,000 in self-employment income in addition to wages earned with a chargeable employer.

The expiration of these programs has no impact on the state’s regular unemployment system or the claimants receiving regular unemployment benefits.

IDES is also reminding claimants to access their  IllinoisJobLink.com account.  IllinoisJobLink.com is an employment website with more than 100,000 job postings and can be used as a tool by jobseekers to find their next employment opportunity.  Claimants who have applied for unemployment benefits already have a username and password for the site and are encouraged to login and finish registration and create or upload a resume.

More information about resources and assistance can be found on the state’s Covid-19 resource page or on the IDES website.