Millions of Americans are about to lose unemployment benefits, and states haven't opted into a plan to keep payments flowing, according to Biden's labor secretary

• Federal pandemic unemployment payments are set to end on September 6, leaving 7.5 million without benefits.
• The Biden administration has said states can use stimulus funds to continue benefits if they want.
• But Labor Secretary Marty Walsh says he hasn't heard from any states about continuing stimulus.

In August, the US added far fewer jobs than expected, pushing projected full economic recovery back by two months.

But even as the US adds just 235,000 jobs - and millions remain unemployed - federal unemployment benefits are set to wind down on Monday. The expiration of federal programs, which expanded both who's eligible for benefits and how long they can receive them, will leave an estimated 7.5 million Americans without benefits come Monday.

There is one way that some of those jobless workers could get immediate relief: The Biden administration has said that while federal benefits will conclude Monday, states could use leftover stimulus funds to continue providing benefits or relief payments.

"Secretary Yellen and myself made it clear that states can use the American Rescue Plan money to extend pandemic unemployment benefit insurance if they see fit," Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Insider.

He said that things like fear of the virus and lack of childcare have been holding back some workers from returning, and that schools reopening should hopefully help with getting parents back into the labor force.

But when asked if he's been in touch with any states considering using those stimulus funds, Walsh said "nobody's reached out to us as far as looking to continue the stimulus right now."

"I think states are just really focused on trying to get the Delta variant under control, and then also get people back to work," he said.

The Washington Post reports that there's been internal concern among the Biden administration over the impending fiscal cliff, and the Americans who will see their incomes slashed. According to the Post, senior officials in several departments of the government - including the Labor Department - "have made clear they think the benefits cliff poses a serious danger to millions of Americans who remain out of work."

But Walsh's statement aligns with Insider's reporting, which found that no states were committing to extending benefits.

"States are the ones that can move more quickly, because that's where the need is the greatest in certain high unemployment states," Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow and jobless-policy expert at the left-leaning Century Foundation, told Insider. "But we've seen so far is that the states, without identifying a new source of federal funding, they're not necessarily willing to do it."

For example, when reached for comment by Insider previously, a spokesperson for Washington's governor said that there's "not much" left in American Rescue Plan funds, and that the state would need further congressional action to continue paying out those benefits.

And New York state senator Alessandra Biaggi told the Post it would cost New York "several billion dollars per month" to continue paying out pandemic unemployment programs. "It's impossible, frankly. You can't make something from nothing," Biaggi told the Post.

When asked if there was any possibility of further action on unemployment as the Delta variant surges, Walsh said that he "would defer to Congress."

Right now, Walsh said that "we're taking this a day at a time right now."

"The reason why I can't give you a better picture of what I think is going to happen in September - we have no idea what's going to happen with the coronavirus," Walsh said. "It's been unpredictable from the very beginning."