Sununu plans to end extra $300 unemployment bonus early

May 13—Gov. Chris Sununu says he plans to eliminate an extra $300 federal weekly payment to unemployment recipients before the benefit expires in September.

"I can promise you the $300 stipend is not going all the way until September," Sununu told nearly 200 people listening to a virtual New Hampshire Economic Summit on Thursday. "We're looking at ending it in the short-term, to be sure."

Many business owners across the state have complained during the pandemic that previous $600 weekly unemployment bonus payments and now the $300 payments discourages employees from returning to their jobs when they might be able to make more by staying home.

The bonus payment is in addition to the regular unemployment benefit, which tops out at $427.

Sununu did not set a timeline for ending the benefit.

"We're not making that announcement just yet," he said. "We don't know exactly when it will be, but that's definitely coming."

Other states already have announced they would end the $300 payments early.

The head of the Business & Industry Association of New Hampshire was encouraged by Sununu's statement during the summit.

"Good, I think that's music to a lot of the folks on this webinar, a lot of businesses around the state that are really struggling to find employees," said Jim Roche, president of the BIA, which organized the event.

Eliminating the $300 will not be a "game-changer," Sununu said, predicting a few thousand workers likely would come into the workforce.

New Hampshire needs to attract workers from surrounding states, he said.

"At the end of the day, we have a lot of businesses coming in, a lot of growth, but we do need the workforce to match that, which means driving more workers from Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont, driving those folks here," Sununu said.

What's Working, a series exploring solutions for New Hampshire's workforce needs, is sponsored by the New Hampshire Solutions Journalism Lab at the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications and is funded by Eversource, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, the New Hampshire College & University Council, Northeast Delta Dental and the New Hampshire Coalition for Business and Education.

Contact reporter Michael Cousineau at mcousineau@unionleader.com. To read stories in the series, visit unionleader.com/whatsworking.