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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.

Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

FACT BRIEF

Did the the March boost to unemployment benefits prove effective at supporting the overall economy?

Friday, July 31, 2020

By Maxwell Craig

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YES

The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank focusing on lower-income workers, says the $600 weekly boost to unemployment payments enacted in March was "incredibly effective" in offsetting the impact of coronaovirus-related shutdowns. "Anything that keeps households from cutting back on spending actually supports growth," the EPI said. In May alone the payments buttressed incomes by $842 billion, according to federal figures.

Other economists say the program could be better structured to avoid incentives against returning to work, but don't dispute the importance of its stabilizing effects.

The $600 weekly increase expired July 31, as Congress continued to debate the scope of any renewal. The EPI projected that a year's extension at the $600 level would boost GDP growth by 3.7% and support 5.1 million jobs.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

EPI: Cutting off the $600 boost is cruel and bad economics

EPI: Going from $600 to $200 would reduce job growth

Wall Street Journal: Don't cut off the unemployment benefits now

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Gigafact

Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.

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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.