KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Since March 15, nearly 700,000 new unemployment claims have been filed in Tennessee.
The extra $600 from federal unemployment is set to end this week.
Congress is back to working on drafting another stimulus package.
More than 25 million Americans will be losing the extra money, putting an even tougher financial burden on the thousands of people still unemployed.
"I thought two months max. Going into July and thinking wow it's been five months is truly insane," said University of Tennessee graduate Rachel Underwood.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development announced the federal pandemic unemployment program won't continue.
"I've been reaching out doing as many calls," she said who is one of the hundreds of thousands impacted.
Living her dream working in New York City, she was forced to travel back to Tennessee when the pandemic hit losing her job in the process.
"It's really hard to look for jobs right now because no one is really hiring. Most places are on a hiring freeze. It's been hard to sit back and do nothing."
Now left without the extra money is forcing her to reevaluate what's important and what's not. "Save as much as I can and only buy things that are essential."
The House has already passed a democratic bill. It would give single filers up to $1,200.
But Republican Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell is suggesting limiting those payments for people who earn less than 40-thousand a year.
"I know they're talking about whether or not it needs to be extended but this pandemic we don't know when it's going to end so i think in the best interest of everyone they should renew it," said Underwood.
The future for her is scary, it's uncertain. But she's ready to get back to work… whenever that opportunity comes.