#NY won’t cover COVID-related unemployment money when fed program ends: Gov

New York will not pay to extend COVID-19 unemployment benefits for the 1.6 million state residents receiving them when the related federal programs expire at the end of Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

Speaking at an unrelated press conference in Manhattan, Hochul claimed to have her hands tied by both federal regulations and state law, which she said prohibit allocating additional funds while the state is still running a deficit.

“Our unemployment system was so overtaxed last year and a half that we now have an $11 billion deficit, and the state law does not allow us to allocate any increase in resources as long as there is a deficit,” Hochul said.

“We looked long and hard to find out what options are available for the people,” the governor said.

The programs set to expire by the end of Sunday include Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits, according to THE CITY. The programs have extended the amount of time someone could receive payments after losing their job.

An additional $300 in COVID support per week paid out by the feds to all unemployment recipients also expires at midnight Sunday, THE CITY said.

Unemployment stood at 7.6 percent statewide in July and 10.5 percent in New York City, according to the state Department of Labor.

Hochul on Sunday advised unemployed New Yorkers set to lose benefits Monday to seek help from workforce training programs.

“It’s simply a matter of connecting the dots, connecting the people to the training, connecting them to the positions,” she said. “That’s something I’ll be laser-focused on because a lot of people are hurting today as a result of the federal government’s not extending the resources and the time frame for this.”