Unemployment cliff looms as 7.5 million Americans to lose aid by Labor Day: "The knife in the chest"

Pamela Mohar planned ahead for when her pandemic unemployment benefits end: With her last check arriving in early September, she and her partner have prepaid their bills through October. She's not sure what will happen next.

"Once that last check comes, that will be devastating not to know where the next check will come from," Mohar, 37, who graduated from Eastern Michigan University in April with a master's degree in creative writing, told CBS MoneyWatch. Mohar, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, said she's been looking for a job since last fall, when she was working as a graduate assistant, but so far hasn't had any luck. Before returning to school, she had worked in retail and as a bartender — experience she emphasized when applying for jobs. But she suspects employers aren't willing to hire someone they think might move on if a better job comes along.