AUSTIN, Texas — Unemployment benefits are open to all 200,000 federal workers in Texas, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
There are 12,700 federal workers in the Austin-Round Rock area. So far, 5,200 have applied for unemployment.
Workers get between $68 to $507 a week.
But Lisa Givens, the Communication Director for the Texas Workforce Commission, said those benefits have to be paid back.
"The federal government doesn't pay unemployment insurance taxes like in private sector taxes, like a private sector employer, so that money has to be returned back to the trust fund," Givens said.
Federal workers don't have a set amount of time on when to pay back the benefits. But Givens said they will send a notice every month reminding the workers.