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Federal unemployment aid ending for hundreds of thousands in Massachusetts

BOSTON — Massachusetts officials remind people that federal unemployment benefits are expected to end Saturday, Sept. 4, which means going forward, there will no longer be any pay even if someone has a remaining balance or weeks to claim.

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These federal benefit programs included Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation.

Meanwhile, there are currently 200,000 available jobs in Massachusetts after the federal unemployment benefits come to an end. For those looking for available employment, click here to search job postings and additional job seeker resources.

“It’s a nine out of 10, maybe 10 out of 10,” said Nick Giannotti, general manager of The Tip Tap Room in Boston.

Desperate for workers, Giannotti said they’ve been getting more applications in the last two weeks than they’ve been getting all year.

“The need is enormous to operate,” said Giannotti. “On a daily basis you need staff to keep up, so right now we cut the hours to stay open and it’s been this way since April, since we reopened.”

Part of the reason applications are going up may be because people are finding out the pandemic unemployment benefits expire this weekend.

“So I guess I’m screwed,” said Shawn Oliver, who says his identity was stolen, adding insult to injury. “I’ve only received one check. I got people stealing my identity all over social security, they had me down as an ‘L’ as in lost in the system because of people stealing my identity.”

The state says it is working hard to match those seeking work with those looking to hire.

“I know a lot of places are doing sign-on bonuses but when you’re a small business it’s not really super feasible,” said Giannotti. “We are definitely paying higher wages than we were pre-pandemic but now it’s about having a good reputation and hoping that gets you where you need to go.”

There are about 62,000 other claimants who lost a job within the last 26 weeks who will continue receiving state unemployment insurance benefits. The state says the unemployment rate here is below the national average.

While working or looking for a job, individuals may be eligible for food or other assistance from the Department of Transitional Assistance.

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