Lee Withdraws State from $300 Federal Unemployment Supplement - Articles

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Posted by: Kate Prince on May 11, 2021

Gov. Bill Lee has opted Tennessee out of a federal $300 weekly unemployment supplement, following after several other Southern states that have refused the additional payments, the Tennessean reports. "We will no longer participate in federal pandemic unemployment programs because Tennesseans have access to more than 250,000 jobs in our state,” Lee said in a statement. The state’s unemployment benefits of $275 weekly are among the lowest in the country and significantly below the national average of $387. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina and Montana have all recently opted out of the supplement. The federal assistance program in Tennessee will end on July 3.