Kentucky will be among the first states to apply for a $400 enhanced federal unemployment package offered under the Trump administration. The benefits will be retroactively applied going back to July 26th, when an additional $600 federal payment expired.
To receive the full $400 weekly unemployment boost for out-of-work Kentuckians, the state will have to tap into its federal CARES funding for a $100 match. But Gov. Andy Beshear said the extra spending is necessary at a time when residents are struggling.
Beshear said hundreds of thousands of applicants will be eligible for the add-on benefits.
"This has been a work in progress, both from the federal administration and from our side, but we believe at least right now that everyone who qualified for the $600 will qualify for the $400," the governor said.
Approval of the state's application could come in just days, but unemployed workers won't see the extra benefits until early September as the state works to upgrade its system to handle the new payments.
Kentucky will have to reapply for the program every three weeks.
