Expiration of $600 UI Supplement Help Drop the Average Oregon UI Payment in August by 45% VS. July, An Average UI Loss of $1,529 Per Month.

The total amount of UI benefits paid in August vs July in Oregon were dramatically reduced, from $1,043,941,534 to $607,134,962. That's a loss of nearly $437 million in one month.

At the same time the total monthly number of UI payments increased by 7%, from 1,188,179 to 1,258,384. 

This meant that the average $879 UI WEEKLY payment during July declined by 45%/$397 in August to $482. 

Extrapolated to a full month, this would mean that the average UI payment dropped from $3,559 in July to $2,030 in August, a decline of $1,529.  

The likely prime reason for the decline was the expiration of the $600 weekly PUC supplement at the end of July. The July to August decline in average payments would likely have been higher except July already had one week where the $600 supplement was no longer available.

Data for this analysis is from OED PUB 924 monthly reports; as best as I can tell these reports do NOT include PUA unemployment insurance benefits. Inclusion of those PUA benefits would increase the monthly totals, but likely further decrease the average amount per payment as PUA generally has a lower weekly benefit that regular unemployment insurance.  

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.