Governor Janet Mills’ administration on Wednesday announced the state will provide a one-time $600 payment to Mainers who are unemployed because of the pandemic.

It comes just weeks before extended federal benefits are set to run out for many Americans.

According to the Bangor Daily News, more than 30,000 Mainers are expected to lose their unemployment benefits the day after Christmas if lawmakers in Washington D.C. do not pass a federal relief package before then.

The state’s labor department says those payments will be made by the end of December.

“While this relief payment is not enough to make unemployed Maine people whole, it is our hope it will serve as a lifeline to sustain them during the holidays and until Federal support arrives,” Governor Mills said Wednesday.

The funding comes from money the state had left over from the federal stimulus bill in March.