The IRS plans to issue automatic “special payments” of up to $1,400 to 1 million taxpayers starting later this month, the agency announced on Friday.

The payments will go to individuals who did not claim the 2021 Recovery Rebate Credit on their tax returns for that year and who are eligible for the money.

The Recovery Rebate Credit is a refundable tax credit provided to individuals who did not receive one or more economic impact payments — more popularly known as stimulus checks — that were sent by the federal government in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The maximum payment will be $1,400 per individual and will vary based on circumstances, according to the IRS. The agency will make an estimated total of about $2.4 billion in payments.

“Looking at our internal data, we realized that one million taxpayers overlooked claiming this complex credit when they were actually eligible,” IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said in a statement. “To minimize headaches and get this money to eligible taxpayers, we’re making these payments automatic, meaning these people will not be required to go through the extensive process of filing an amended return to receive it.” 

The IRS provides more information on payment eligibility and amounts on its website.

The U.S. job market has undergone a dramatic transformation in recent years, from one characterized by record levels of employee turnover to one in which there is little churn.

In short, the “great resignation” of 2021 and 2022 has morphed into what some labor economists call the “great stay,” a job market with low levels of hiring, quits and layoffs.

“The turbulence of the pandemic-era labor market is increasingly in the rearview mirror,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.

Employers clamored to hire as the U.S. economy reopened from its Covid-fueled lull. Job openings rose to historic levels, unemployment fell to its lowest point since the late 1960s and wages grew at their fastest pace in decades as businesses competed for talent.

More than 50 million workers quit their jobs in 2022, breaking a record set just the year prior, attracted by better and ample job opportunities elsewhere.

The labor market has gradually cooled, however.

The quits rate is “below what it was prior to the start of the pandemic, after reaching a feverish peak in 2022,” said Allison Shrivastava, an economist at job site Indeed.

Hiring has slowed to its lowest rate since 2013, excluding the early days of the pandemic. Yet, layoffs are still low by historical standards.

This dynamic — more people stay in their jobs amid low layoffs and unemployment — “point to employers holding on to their workforce along with more employees staying in their current jobs,” Shrivastava said.

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But job openings have declined, reducing the number of quits, which is a barometer of worker confidence in being able to find a new gig. This dynamic is largely due to another factor: the U.S. Federal Reserve’s campaign between early 2022 and mid-2023 to raise interest rates to tame high inflation, Pollak said.

It became more expensive to borrow, leading businesses to pull back on expansion and new ventures, and in turn, reduce hiring, she said. The Fed started cutting interest rates in September, but signaled after its latest rate cut on Wednesday that it would move slower to reduce rates than previously forecast.

Overall, dynamics suggest a “stabilizing labor market, though one still shaped by the lessons of recent shocks,” said Indeed’s Shrivastava.

The great stay means Americans with a job have “unprecedented job security,” Pollak said.

But those looking for a job — including new college graduates and workers dissatisfied with their current role — will likely have a tough time finding a gig, Pollak said. She recommends they widen their search and perhaps try to learn new skills.

The Biden administration has withdrawn two major plans to deliver student loan forgiveness.

The proposed regulations would have allowed the U.S. Department of Education secretary to cancel student loans for several groups of borrowers, including those who had been in repayment for decades and others experiencing financial hardship.

The combined policies could have reduced or eliminated the education debts of millions of Americans.

The Education department posted notices in the Federal Register last week that it was withdrawing the plans, weeks before President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House.

The Education department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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“The Biden administration knew that the proposals for broad student loan forgiveness would have been thwarted by the Trump administration,” said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Trump is a vocal critic of student loan forgiveness, and on the campaign trail he called President Joe Biden’s efforts “vile” and “not even legal.”

Biden’s latest plans became known as a kind of “Plan B” after the Supreme Court in June 2023 struck down his first major effort to clear people’s student loans.

Consumer advocates expressed disappointment and concern about the reversal on debt relief.

“President Biden’s proposals would have freed millions from the crushing weight of the student debt crisis and unlocked economic mobility for millions more workers and families,” Persis Yu, deputy executive director and managing counsel of the Student Borrower Protection Center, said in a statement.

“There are so many borrowers concerned about the impact on the new administration with their student loans,” said Elaine Rubin, director of corporate communications at Edvisors, which helps students navigate college costs and borrowing.

For now, the Education department still offers a wide range of student loan forgiveness programs, including Public Service Loan Forgiveness and Teacher Loan Forgiveness, experts pointed out.

PSLF allows certain not-for-profit and government employees to have their federal student loans cleared after 10 years of on-time payments. Under TLF, those who teach full-time for five consecutive academic years in a low-income school or educational service agency can be eligible for loan forgiveness of up to $17,500.

The Biden administration announced Friday that it would forgive another $4.28 billion in student loan debt for 54,900 borrowers who work in public service through PSLF.

“Many borrowers are particularly concerned about the future of the PSLF program, which is written into law,” Rubin said. “Eliminating it would require an act of Congress.”

At Studentaid.gov, borrowers can search for more federal relief options that remain available.

Meanwhile, The Institute of Student Loan Advisors has a database of student loan forgiveness programs by state.