Montana to end all pandemic unemployment benefits for jobless residents

Montana will soon stop paying federal pandemic unemployment benefits to its residents, opting instead to provide $1,200 return-to-work bonuses.

It is the first state to end participation in the historic federal expansion of jobless benefits, which Congress enacted last spring as the coronavirus pandemic began upending the national economy and costing millions of Americans their jobs. The move, which may be replicated in other states as the economy springs back to life amid declining coronavirus cases, is necessary to address the state's "severe worker shortage," said Gov. Greg Gianforte, a Republican.