The Treasury Department said Friday it sent out 5.7 million economic stimulus payments this week, totaling more than $4 billion, as part of the government's plan to reinvigorate the nation's sluggish economy.
This week's total was the lowest since the first payments went out on April 28
In the first week, Treasury sent out $7.1 billion and last week, Treasury mailed more than 6.2 million checks totaling about $5 billion.
To date, Treasury has distributed more than 57.4 million stimulus payments, totaling more than $50 billion.
The pace of printing and mailing the stimulus checks has slowed in recent weeks as Treasury facilities have been working to get regular income tax refund checks out in a timely fashion simultaneously. But the slowdown is just temporary.
The department expects weekly volumes to increase in June when regular tax refund mailings are complete.
This week's numbers represent the near completion of all directly deposited stimulus checks, the Treasury Department said. Paper checks will continue to be mailed until the department reaches its planed $100 billion goal. To qualify for a stimulus payment, individuals and households must file an income tax return.
