Arizona distributes nearly $800M in Lost Wages Assistance

The Arizona Department of Economic Security (DES) announced today the issuance of nearly $800 million in Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) to unemployment insurance claimants in Arizona, a portion of more than $10.7 billion in payments that have been distributed since the beginning of the pandemic. On August 17, Arizona became the first in the nation to begin distributing funds, and will complete its sixth week of funding on Saturday. This comes as FEMA officials announced the $300 supplement will end nationwide after the sixth week of funding for each state. 

“Arizona was the first state in the nation to begin issuing Lost Wages Assistance,” said DES Director Michael Wisehart. “Understanding how critical it was for Arizonans to receive this assistance quickly, our team worked around the clock to make it happen. Arizona is completing the six weeks of payments just as the majority of states have yet to begin issuing the additional benefit. This is an important benefit for the citizens of Arizona, and we are grateful for the collaboration between the U.S. Department of Labor, FEMA and the White House for enabling us to provide this assistance to individuals and families in need.” 

Those who have not yet filed weekly claims or whose claims have yet to be processed may still be eligible for benefits. DES will continue to work with FEMA to provide retroactive LWA payments to claimants who applied for benefits between the week ending August 1, 2020 and the week ending September 5, 2020, as funding allows. 

Arizona has distributed more than $10.7 billion in state Unemployment Insurance (UI), Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) and Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) since the week ending March 7, 2020. DES is committed to ensuring all Arizonans who are eligible for these critical benefits continue to receive them as quickly as possible.

Visit www.azui.com to learn more about Arizona Unemployment Benefits and for additional updates and information about unemployment assistance programs in Arizona.