LANA ZAK: 7.

5 million Americans are expected to lose pandemic unemployment benefits by

Labor Day. The $300 weekly payments are expected to expire September 6th. Of the $6 trillion
that the US government has put towards stimulus packages since the start of the pandemic,
$567 billion have been paid out in unemployment.

According to the last jobs report, the unemployment rate fell to 5.4% in July, with the creation
of 4 million jobs.

To put all that into context for us, let's bring in CBS Money Watch reporter Aimee Picchi. Hey,
there, Aimee. So this is the largest cut off of unemployment benefits in US history. Tell us about
the unemployment programs that are ending and who's going to be most impacted by it?

AIMEE PICCHI: Yeah, you know, these are several new programs that were created last year
during the pandemic to help different types of workers as lawmakers saw that people needed
help in ways that maybe they didn't need in previous recessions.

One program is called PUA and those are for gig workers. There's also a program that gives
people an additional $300 a week in benefits. And then there's another program that gives
people extra weeks of unemployment aid because what we've seen is that people have been
unemployed for much longer in this recession, in this pandemic than in previous recessions.

As far as people who are most impacted, it's low-wage workers. You know, we saw this at the
beginning of the pandemic that low-wage workers were more likely than high-wage workers to
lose their jobs.

Women took a huge hit in this recession in the pandemic often because women with kids
stayed home as their kids were in remote work, sorry, remote school or their childcare's were
shut down and people of color.

I think it's really important to understand that even though the unemployment rate is going
down, it's still extremely higher for people of color. The Black unemployment rate right now for
instance is 8.2%. The overall unemployment rate is just a little over 5%, so that's a big
difference. So those workers are really going to feel this impact more than other workers.

LANA ZAK: You know, when you're talking about those different populations, obviously among
them are also gig workers or part-time workers who say that they can't afford to lose those
pandemic-specific benefits. Are there are other programs that any of these groups who are
struggling might be able to qualify for?

AIMEE PICCHI: Yeah, that's a great question. You know, unfortunately, gig workers will not
qualify for any unemployment benefits after this program ends. And this is something that a lot
of lawmakers and advocates are saying needs to be changed.

They say our labor system has really changed since the unemployment program began in the
1930s. Gig work has become a way of life for a lot of people. And this program that is ending
gave these gig workers for the first time an ability to get unemployment. Unfortunately, that's
ending. And there's no other resource or recourse for them once this ends.

LANA ZAK: And Aimee, as our viewers know, 26 states chose to end their unemployment
benefits in June, arguing that that might encourage more people to go back to work. Do the
facts back them up? And what also was the impact on state and local economies that decided
to end those benefits early?

AIMEE PICCHI: Yeah, this has been a really interesting thing to watch because those 26 states
are giving us a preview of what we're going to see when unemployment benefits expire for the
rest of the United States in a couple-- in September 6.

And economists have been looking at this data very carefully. And what they're saying is that
these jobs are not coming back any faster than they are in the states where unemployment
benefits were maintained.

But there's also a downside and that all these benefits have disappeared. And so there's less
money going into the economy. One study from Columbia and Harvard University said that
there was a reduction in $2 billion in consumer spending in those states since those benefits
were cut in June.

So the prediction is that in September when these benefits cut, we're going to see a decline in
consumer spending. A lot of households are going to have to really tighten their budgets and
really watch their money.

There might be an increase in hardship and in poverty. Some people will find jobs. That is going
to happen. But there will be many people who won't and will be struggling at that point.

LANA ZAK: So given all of that, Aimee, and given that the Delta variant is surging across the
country, particularly in the South, people may be wondering is Washington thinking at all about
extending these programs?

AIMEE PICCHI: Yes, unfortunately, the Biden administration said last week that they're not
going to extend these programs beyond September 6. But they did say, the Biden
administration did say that they feel reform is necessary of these programs. And they're urging
lawmakers, Congress to take this up.

So it's possible that we could see something down the road, but there's not going to be
anything immediately when these programs expire on September 6. The Biden administration
also said that states could create their own programs to extend unemployment.

As of yet, we haven't seen any states come forward to say that they're going to do this.

LANA ZAK: Yes, because obviously [? then ?][? it'll ?] becoming strictly out of their own coffers
as opposed to getting additional federal benefits in that case. All right, Aimee. Thank you for
explaining--
AIMEE PICCHI: Thank you.

LANA ZAK: --all of these to us.