Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon announced that the state will stop distributing federal supplemental unemployment benefits beginning in June in response to workforce shortages affecting businesses.

Several federal programs were created to financially assist people struggling through the COVID-19 shutdowns, including the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and the Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020.

Payments from the programs will no longer be an option for Wyoming residents starting on June 19.

“Wyoming needs workers; our businesses are raring to go,” Gov. Gordon said.  “I recognize the challenges facing Wyoming employers, and I believe it’s critical for us to do what we can to encourage more hiring.  Federal unemployment programs have provided short-term relief for displaced and vulnerable workers at a tough time, but are now hindering the pace of our recovery.”

“People want to work, and work is available,” the governor added.  “Incentivizing people not to work is just plain un-American.”

The Wyoming Department of Workforce Services will stop paying these benefits to existing claimants and will no longer accept new claims for the following federal unemployment insurance (UI) programs:

  • Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) – A $300 per week supplemental payment in addition to other UI benefits.
  • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) – An extension of regular UI benefits.  Regular UI is limited to 26 weeks. The current version of PEUC would extend UI benefits up to a maximum of 53 additional weeks.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) – Provided eligibility for many people who would not normally be eligible for UI benefits and who had lost their income due to COVID-19.  This includes, for instance, those who were self-employed or those who worked for non-profits or other businesses that were not required to pay UI taxes.

The Department of Workforce Services reminds Wyoming workers that state assistance is available when the FPUC, PEUC and PUA programs end.

Since last November, Wyoming’s unemployment rate has hovered at or just below 5.3%, which is currently 0.7% lower than the national average.

“The 20 Workforce Centers around the state have many opportunities to help those who are seeking work,” said DWS Director Robin Sessions Cooley.  “The Workforce Innovation and Opportunities Act (WIOA) program and the Workforce Development Training Fund, including our Apprenticeship Grants and Internship Grants, can help a person obtain not just a job, but a career.”

The hospitality industry has struggled through the pandemic restrictions.  Now that restaurants are open at 100% capacity in the state, employers are struggling to find staff, according to Chris Brown, executive director of the Wyoming Lodging and Restaurant Association and the Wyoming Travel Industry Coalition.

“It’s been incredibly difficult for businesses to get back to staffing levels,” he said.   “The hospitality industry, under normal circumstances, is a labor-intensive industry.  It takes a lot of staff to run a successful fully staffed restaurant or hotel.”