The financial aid from the U.S. government that aided millions of households across the country affected by the pandemic is coming to an end.

The federal unemployment assistance gave an additional $300 a week in benefits, which helped out a lot of people who lost their jobs or had their hours cut during the pandemic.

According to the New York State Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for Long Island in the month of July was 5.2%. This is an improvement from July 2020 when the Long Island unemployment rate was 12.8%.

Still, many people continue to struggle with finding a job or are afraid to work in public settings while COVID is still a concern.

Business owners who struggled to hire employees during this time period say they hope employers will now be able to fill more jobs.

"I'm hopeful that it's going to come, people are going to come in and look for jobs…half of me is hopeful the other half of me isn't,” says Anthony Laurino, of Phil's Pizzeria & Restaurant. “I'm on the fence with it, we'll see. I'm going to post an ad tomorrow and see what happens."

Eric Alexander, of the Long Island Main Street Alliance, adds, “The downtowns are hurting because they need employees, so this is a great opportunity to bring people back to work."

The end of the pandemic unemployment assistance will affect more than 7 million Americans in 26 states, including New York.