As the job-killing COVID-19 pandemic rages, accessing unemployment benefits in recent months has been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians — as well as a headache.

While it had initially had its issues — including overloaded helplines — the state’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) application gave gig workers and freelance professionals the opportunity to receive unemployment benefits for the first time.

And since the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, designed to provide emergency financial relief to workers affected by COVID-19, ended on July 25, workers affected by the pandemic that relied upon the additional $600 per week it provided have struggled without it.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE