Is it possible to get $75,000 a year in unemployment benefits?
Even with the extraordinary but temporary boosts enacted in response to the pandemic, available unemployment benefits don't add up to $75,000 for an individual in a year. In normal years, U.S. states provide unemployment insurance payments ranging from $235 per week in Mississippi to $823 in Massachusetts for individuals, generally replacing less than half of lost earnings. No state provides unemployment insurance for longer than 30 weeks.
In response to the massive unemployment triggered by the shutdowns, the federal government in March began topping up states' weekly payments by an additional $600 weekly--but those payments are set to expire July 31. Other measures extend coverage, at the original basic rates, for up to 20 weeks in states where unemployment remains severe enough. Supplemental federal support for that relief expires at the end of the year.
