Did You Work Through The Pandemic?

While Maine saw unprecedented job loss through 2020, many Mainers still had to work daily as their jobs were deemed essential.

On Wednesday part of the state budget was passed according to Fox 23. Part of this budget included a one-time payment of around $300 to Mainers that file individually and make less than $75,000 annually and around $600 to families filing jointly making less than $150,000 annually. These payments should be available by late November.

New Hires

In an effort to incentivize Mainers who lost their jobs during the pandemic to return to work, the Maine Department of Labor and the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development joined together for the Back to Work Program to pay $1,500 to those who start jobs between June 15th and July 25th. Those eligible meet the following criteria:

1. You had to have received unemployment compensation for the week ending May 29, 2021.
2. You must accept a job that pays less than $25 an hour and stay at the job for at least 8 consecutive weeks.
3. You cannot receive unemployment compensation during those 8 weeks of employment.

Initially, $1,000 was offered for those who started working in July but that changed to $1,500 regardless according to News Center Maine.

Unlike the $300 one-time payout for essential workers that was voted on as part of the state budget, the money for this program comes from federal funding according to News Center Maine.

Another new development to the program is that now part-time workers can take advantage of this incentive. Those working at least 20 hours for one employer and no longer receive unemployment benefits are eligible for $750.

So whether you're going back to work or you've been working through the last year and a half, expect to see some extra cash in the near future.

LOOK: Counties With the Lowest Home Prices in Maine

The National Association of REALTORS calculated the fourth quarter 2020 median home values by applying the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index growth to 2019 housing and population data from the American Community Survey and determining an estimate of 2020 median home values for all counties where data is available. The monthly mortgage payments for fourth-quarter 2019 and fourth quarter 2020 were calculated for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 10% down payment.

Keep reading to discover which county in Maine has the lowest home prices.

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Just saying the names of these towns immediately conjures up images of grand mansions, luxury cars, and ritzy restaurants. Read on to see which town in your home state took the title of the richest location and which place had the highest median income in the country. Who knows—your hometown might even be on this list.

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