Gig workers to lose all unemployment benefits in 20 GOP states: "You can't prepare for it" By Aimee Picchi Unemployment claims hit pandemic low Selina Smedley said she was expecting to have jobless aid through early September, a $300 weekly boost that has been helping her get by while her Dallas-area cleaning business remains far below pre-pandemic levels. Then Texas Governor Greg Abbott unmoored her by announcing an early end to enhanced jobless benefits. As of June 26, the 50-year-old Smedley will get cut off from all jobless aid — two months before federal funding is due to expire. She is one of almost 1 million self-employed workers who are hurtling toward a benefits cliff next month in the 20 states where Republican governors are shutting off the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program early. Most of the governors cited a desperate need for workers among employers such as restaurants and retailers that are reopening to the public.