For 25,000 Georgians who are out of work, the last check is in the mail. For tens of thousands more, that day is fast approaching.

Congress has not acted to extend federal unemployment benefits beyond this week, so, week by week, more unemployed Georgians will see their financial safety net disappear as their current benefits run out.

Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond expects more than 25,000 people statewide to stop receiving benefits next week, unless Congress approves an extension. By the year’s end, 84,400 Georgians may lose their weekly unemployment check, according to the U.S. Labor Department. Nationwide, about 2 million people are expected to stop receiving checks in December.

“Food, shelter, heat, clothing and transportation are going to be cut back,” said Jeffrey Wenger, associate professor of public policy analysis at the University of Georgia. “When you do this to thousands of people, it starts to impact the economy.”

Benefit checks cover up to one-third of a worker's lost salary. The average weekly benefit is about $260; if 84,400 Georgians see their last check in December, the direct weekly impact by the last week of the month will be almost $22 million. That impact will grow week by week as more people find their mailboxes empty of benefit checks.

The indirect impact will be even larger. Unlike some forms of government stimulus, unemployment benefits tend to be recycled directly into the economy as recipients pay bills and buy necessities such as groceries, many economists say. That helps local businesses stay afloat and protects workers at those businesses from losing their jobs.

By many economists’ estimates, $1 in unemployment benefits boosts the local economy by more than $1. An analyst for Moody’s Analytics estimates the impact at $1.61; the Congressional Budget Office puts it at $1.90.

The unemployment benefits system is complex. Unemployed workers must first exhaust their state benefits before moving to the federal level. If they fail to find work for several months, they must reapply for benefits at various intervals, moving to the next increment of benefits as the previous one runs out. Some increments last just six weeks; others last up to 20 weeks, up to a cumulative total of 99 weeks.

Last week marked the last time people could submit an application to move on to the next increment. However, not everyone receiving unemployment benefits will see their payments stop immediately. They will continue to receive the benefits for which they are already approved for as many weeks  as those benefits were originally designed to last.

Meanwhile, the political wrangling continues in Washington. Congress has extended benefits several times since the economic downturn began, but Republicans, emboldened by their recent electoral gains, argue that approving an extension will expand the federal deficit, and that not approving one will give workers more urgency about finding a job.

“The message the American people have sent to Washington is that we must exercise fiscal responsibility and fiscal restraint," said U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Ga.) "That’s what I support and what will generate the jobs we need to get our citizens back to work.”

Democrats, for their part, say the unemployed have few, if any, employment options and that an extension is imperative.

“I hear from constituents every day who would love to start a new job," said U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.). "I don’t believe it would be wise to cut off unemployment insurance options for out of work families while the economy has not fully recovered. To do so, will probably be the last straw for families who are holding off foreclosure or bankruptcy. ”

Caught in the middle is Brad Garvey, who has collected benefits since he was laid off from the U.S. Department of Justice a year ago.

Without an extension, his benefits will at best get him through January. After that, “Well, I don’t think about that,” he said Tuesday.

He searches daily for jobs daily and volunteers with various organizations. He’s been repeatedly turned down because he’s overqualified, he said, even for service industry gigs.

“I’m not just sitting around," said Garvey, 32, of Midtown. "I want to work, even if I don’t get paid.”

He’s not sure how to further tighten his belt. He has already sold his car and relies on his scooter or public transportation to save money. If need be, he can live with friends and family.

Thurmond, the state labor commissioner, said people whose benefits expire  should still notify the department each week that they are unemployed and seeking work. That will make it easier for them to receive retroactive benefits should Congress approve an extension.

Jean Pittman and her husband, John, are relying on unemployment benefits. She was laid off last month from her job in food service at Turner Field. Her husband has been unemployed for a year and a half after being laid off from his IT position. Though he’s been taking any part-time or temporary work he can find, money has been exceedingly tight.

“ I wouldn’t call us destitute, but we’re in need of this [benefit],” she said.

She isn’t sure what her family will do if Congress doesn't extend the benefit. But she isn’t surprised by the possibility, either.

“Every day you talk to people who have been laid off,"  Pittman said. "How long can the government support us?”