Over 169 Mn stimulus checks have been issued by the IRS in the 3rd round. Over 2 Mn people received the checks worth $1400 in July. However, the troubles are far from over. A few lawmakers have pushed forward requests for another stimulus round, which may be recurring.
Sectors That Still Need Stimulus Checks
Despite the immense financial assistance already sent, millions remain distressed financially. Moreover, with the latest Delta variant pushing up numbers nationwide, new headwinds are being created economically. About 25% of Americans had difficulty paying their bills in the last week.
The rate of unemployment is currently 5.2%. It is still higher than 3.5% which was the rate before the pandemic. Businesses have resumed hiring, however, there are 5.3Mn people who are currently unemployed who had jobs pre-pandemic. Economists have sounded alarms over the Delta’s spread as well, with economic growth estimates across the world being cut.
Simultaneously, 9.1Mn Americans lost the enhanced benefits due to unemployment last weekend during Labor Day. $5Bn worth of weekly benefits have been cut, as a result, for unemployed workers. This aid had helped them pay for essentials like rent and groceries.
For a lot of people, the third stimulus check worth $1400 had long been spent much earlier before any other pandemic relief ended. As a reflection of that, 2.8Mn people have given their signatures to a petition on Change.org which calls for $2,000 recurring monthly payments.
For the federal government, the last sign of another stimulus check was back on 30th March, when 21 senators had asked President Biden for the same. On the other hand, several states have announced their own stimulus checks, with California leading the lot. Thus far, people have stated that the relief funds were all spent to cover existing debts.
