Unemployment Checks Resume For Some Jobless While Others Go Without For Holidays

Ken Watson said the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services notified him Sunday that on Monday he'd receive the unemployment checks Congress kept from him with its dithering the past two weeks.

"I didn't know what they were gonna do," said Watson, a 46-year-old laid-off IT contractor with five kids in Batavia, Ohio. "I didn't really count on it coming back."

More than a million people relying on federally-funded extended unemployment benefits had their checks interrupted after Congress allowed the benefits to lapse at the end of November, according to the National Employment Law Project. The federal benefits, which in some states give 73 weeks of aid to people who exhaust 26 weeks state benefits, were reauthorized last week after President Obama cut a deal with Republicans to attach continued help for the jobless to a reauthorization of tax cuts for the rich.

When he signed the bill on Friday, Obama said the unemployed were in luck because "states can move quickly to reinstate their benefits -- and we expect that in almost all states, they'll get them in time for Christmas."

Rich Hobbie, director of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, told HuffPost that some long-term jobless will not receive missed payments until next year. Most will be paid in the next two weeks.

"The bottom line is many states will have payments out by December 25," Hobbie said. "Some states already have payments out. And there are a minority of states whose benefit payments will spill over into January."

George Wentworth of the National Employment Law Project told HuffPost that the people most likely to be left hanging until January are the folks whose 26 weeks of state benefits expired before they could start the first "tier" of federally-funded Emergency Unemployment Compensation. "The vast majority of states are paying this week and next," he added.

HuffPost readers: Left hanging until next week or longer? Tell us about it -- email [e-mail]. Please include your phone number if you're willing to do an interview.

Watson told HuffPost earlier this month he was "shocked" to discover that his $300 weekly lifeline, which he'd expected to last until January, prematurely stopped on Dec. 4. He said his wife was still working part-time and that his family's Christmas wouldn't be spoiled by the unemployment cutoff, but he worried his youngest might not understand.

"My two younger kids I really have to worry about because they believe in Santa Claus," he said.

He praised the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services for a smooth handling of the lapse in federal benefits. He did not praise the U.S. Congress, calling it "dirty politics" to leave the unemployed hanging to win tax cuts for the rich.

"That was crazy," he said. "That was totally uncalled for."

Comments

[demilieu]

07:36 PM on 12/27/2010

The UI office is hiring...

[democrats for life]

02:17 AM on 12/28/2010

no, they are not hiring. our State has a hiring freeze on all state employees for the last 3 years, and i'm sure the other states have hiring freezes for state employees too. your not very bright

[Concerned about the law]

02:02 PM on 12/24/2010

This report is very deficient of key information.

My counter report that many persons qualified for Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits for any tier are at risk for manipulation/payment delays by their State Employment Development Departments. In California, the only means by which a claimant can move their EDD is to plead hardship with the governor's office. Pleading hardship can be accomplished by communicating to the governor by phone, fax and copied to the EDD via email on their website.

States are deliberately delaying UI claims processing for a financial advantage for pushing the payments until after January 1, 2011 deadline; the last day with which a claimant may file for a Federal Extended UI benefit Tier.

States appear to want to create pain and suffering in their claimants by pushing past the mandatory Federal deadline. To make this real, States are deliberately delaying UI payments which will compel claimants to make a special case regarding their failure to meet the Federal Deadline, necessary to transition to the next tier of Federal Benefits.

The UI FED EXT benefits 1/01/11 deadline is injurious. More than 3 weeks transpired from the prior deadline, Nov. 28, '10, so the actual filing deadline should be mid January 2011- not on a national holiday.

Our government inflicts pain and suffering on innocent people. Presidents Clinton and Bush Senior waved in NAFTA, the demise of our country and freedoms. The US must return to manufacturing to create jobs. Listen up Congress! Mandate manufacturing development!

[Chris3131]

02:11 PM on 12/23/2010

I see the entitlement fans on here complaining about the Republicans and their "evil" ways. You know, like thinking years and years of unemployment benefits is a little over the top. Well, did you ever stop and place some of the blame on the Democrats? The Democrats have been in control of BOTH houses of congress since 2006, and the presidency since 2008. Since then, the economy has worsened significantly. You can continue to blame Bush all you want, but it gets you nowhere. Nothing is improving. Tacking on years of unemployment benefits doesn't solve the problem; it worsens it, but that's good for the Democrats. The more people that rely on the government, the more people will continue to vote Democrat. It's a vicious cycle and no accident.

[parlimentMike]

03:03 PM on 12/23/2010

You have unemployment confused with tax reductions. Tell me about entitlements when Americans stop paying a thousand dollars for a gallon of gas to keep the world safe for oil companies.

[Chris3131]

03:08 PM on 12/23/2010

So, tax reductions are an entitlement even though said taxes are the person's money to begin with, but unemployment isn't? Also, I bought gas this morning; I think I would have noticed if it cost $1000/gallon.

[Arts4u]

04:13 PM on 12/23/2010

The economy has been tanking since 2007. All of the 2000's were, in effect, a jobless recovery as more jobs were outsourced then created in this country. 5.5 million versus 3 million. How pathetic is the addition of 3 million jobs over eight years?

Now we will have to add 3 million PER YEAR for the next 5-7 years just to crawl out of this hole.....where are they coming from? We've outsourced too many jobs! No one was paying attention to this... no one of either party.

Democrats do not want handouts - they want jobs!

[Arts4u]

09:56 PM on 12/22/2010

Could it possibly be the 5.5 million jobs which were outsourced from 2001-2009 and creation of only 3 million jobs during the ENTIRE Bush years which is causing this entire mess? Clinton was able to add 23 million. Look at this summary of job creation since the Truman years.

http://blo­gs.wsj.com­/economics­/2009/01/0­9/bush-on-­jobs-the-w­orst-track­-record-on­-record/

How about the additional 3.3 million which are expected to be gone by 2015? And these are not call center ones... these are profession­al white collar jobs....

[democrats for life]

10:22 PM on 12/22/2010

the republicans don't care. they support outsourcing, to make the top 2 percent more wealthy

[Chris3131]

02:04 PM on 12/23/2010

Yeah, it's all the Republicans' fault. I guess it's irrelevant that both houses of congress have been controlled by the Democrats for the last 4 years and the executive branch was added to that 2 years ago?

[Arts4u]

03:17 PM on 12/23/2010

The point is that free trade (which was encouraged by Clinton, by the way, as well as most others) should have been done incrementally and paused to determine effect. It should have had limits in place.

Completely unregulated anything does not work... and only leads to everyone thinking about short-term game at the expense of all else. Now that the corporations have bled dry their US base of clients, they all say they now have to rely on other foreign markets to thrive... we killed our base.

And no one has the character to accept any sort of blame, including those who have contributed to their own undoing by accepting the rampant outsourcing and reliance on foreign made goods/services. Again, short term gain......long term destruction.

[TheRightIsCorrect]

01:36 PM on 12/22/2010

"The long-range sloution to high unemployment is to increase the incentive for ordinary people to save, invest, work, and employ others. We make it costly for employers to employ people; we subsidize people not to go to work We have a system that increasingly taxes work and subsidizes nonwork."

[Trepasky]

02:02 PM on 12/22/2010

Some of what you say is true.
However
Unemployment is insurance not a subsidy. We make our employers pay for unemployment insurance which is part of our 'compensation'

There are some issues that no matter how hard we try will not change.
Over seas manufacturing has many of our jobs and they will not be coming back.
WalMart and most service companies don't pay health benefits for part time workers

Until we get jobs, this unemployment problem will persist. Until there is more demand for products and services, there will be few if any jobs created.

Your comment about making it costly to hire folks is a bit skewed. Unless you and me can control health insurance companies, those over 50 will not get hired for a job with benefits (higher health care premiums).
Banks made record profits, many companies have billions of dollars in cash, none of them are creating new jobs for anyone except for those who become lawyers, investors, and lobbyists.

We have a system that increasing transfer wealth from the middle and lower classes to the upper (wealthy) classes. This transfer does not create jobs but it seems to be what our COngress is backing and promoting.
As a Republican said "We believe in feeding the sparrows by feeding the horses"
The implication is that the middle and lower classes will have to scrounge through the outcasting of the wealthy to find something to eat and something to live on.

Jobless, because, someone has to loose.

[spinotter11]

06:16 PM on 12/22/2010

You are right that unemployment benefits are an insurance-based system. But every insurance policies all have limits based on the premiums paid by the insurees. This Great Recession has blown through all the limits and states are really starting to hurt - they can't even afford the first 26 weeks any more. All of the subsequent weeks are taxpayer-funded, so you cannot really use the analogy of an insurance policy without discussing the maximum payout amount. But this is a small point. Our economy is broken and we need to help those who have been left without any means of supporting themselves. Not because there is still money in the insurance fund, but because it is the right thing to do.

[notalwaysfittoprint]

05:42 AM on 12/23/2010

I agree!

[Arts4u]

02:35 PM on 12/22/2010

I agree, the system is broken and has been for some time. The unbridled large corporate interest system of capitalism we have allowed to emerge has ruined our country....solutions, rather than finger-pointing need to be raised. We are doing nothing but applying bandaids to a gaping wound..... and making no progress whatsoever.

[Davis Lindsey]

01:04 PM on 12/22/2010

Florida did not get it together in time to issue checks for the reinstated EUC and EB programs. The earliest checks will begin to hit direct deposit will be Saturday, December 25th. That is for EUC only. EB checks won't come till Monday, December 27th. Tell my 4 year old Santa's sleigh broke down and won't be here til Mon. or Tues. Florida the land of the Government FUBAR. Merry Christmas.

[TheRightIsCorrect]

01:50 PM on 12/22/2010

Liberals have had generations to create a dependency on government for their own selfish political power. It is one of the most evil things I have seen in my life.

[Arts4u]

02:19 PM on 12/22/2010

Republicans/Corporation had generations to create a dependency on government for their own political power. It is one of most evil things I have seen in my life.

[PamelaH1227]

03:28 PM on 12/22/2010

Oh Please God say it ain'y so!

[PJ M]

03:24 PM on 12/22/2010

Esq ? Esquire ?

Someone has to graduate at the bottom of their class, even in law school ...

[spinotter11]

06:21 PM on 12/22/2010

I will tell you this, this esquired commenter came out bottom of his class in compassion, that's for sure.

[TMMA]

12:18 PM on 12/22/2010

Min wage: $7.25hr x 40hrs x 52wks = $15,080 a year.
(That's IF you can get 40 hours a week for the ENTIRE 12 months!)

The 2010 Poverty Guidelines for the 48 Contiguous States and the District of Columbia Persons in family Poverty guideline:
1 = $10,830
2 = $14,570
3 = $18,310
4 = $22,050
5 = $25,790
6 = $29,530
7 = $33,270
8 = $37,010
For families with more than 8 persons, add $3,740 for each additional person.

[MiddleMolly]

12:27 PM on 12/22/2010

And we forget that many of these "full-time" minimum wage jobs are less than 40 hours due to cost-cutting measures on the part of the employer and due to automated scheduling systems.

[TMMA]

12:28 PM on 12/22/2010

That's the reason I capped the word 'IF'. I don't know anyone who works a whole 40 hr workweek anymore.

[gypsy508]

11:01 AM on 12/22/2010

I'd take my $25K a year job back

[MiddleMolly]

11:20 AM on 12/22/2010

Many people are willing to take minimum wage jobs, even if it means that they can't feed their kids or pay the rent. But they can't get those either. Don't for one minute think that there are enough minimum wage jobs out there to take care of the millions of unemployed.

I think you need to study this issue a bit more.

[Trepasky]

09:08 AM on 12/22/2010

Congress continues to show why they are in power. They have a perverse sense of duty to the rich and only reluctantly offer a few dollars to those most in need.
As many of the Republicans said, 'Nothing for the unemployed until we extend the tax cuts that disproportionately favor the wealthy". They will (the wealthy tax cuts) create jobs, just look how many were created in the past years. The jobs they created were many, unfortunately they were off shore.
The problem of jobs is much more dramatic than the 9.8% touted as representing the unemployed. 15,119,000 people out looking for work while as many as 6,000,000 are no longer counted as unemployed because they are not collecting benefits (99ers, 26ers, etc).
With population growth of about 150,000 new workers each month, our net job gain the past year or so has been negative. Until we create at least, 160,000 jobs per month, the unemployed will just fall off the 'counted' list into the oblivion list of forgotten workers. The unemployment rate may decrease but not because jobs were created.
In our new world of information, the facts are often hidden by those who wish to portray their perspective. As some say "the economy began its recovery in 2009" This is only true of banks and financial markets, the jobs recovery has been negative since 2007 and is not likely to become positive for many years, if ever based upon the Congressional focus of wealthy pay outs.

[spinotter11]

09:21 AM on 12/22/2010

You are spreading an urban myth. The U-3 and U-6 official unemployment statistics from the BLS have nothing to do with one's unemployment benefits status. Read how the statistic is derived before disseminating false information.

[Trepasky]

10:17 AM on 12/22/2010

I would be grateful for any information you can provide.
I am not interested in spreading false or misleading information.
From what I understand, 15,000,000 or so are unemployed as measured by the BLS. 84,000,000 are not in the work force (seniors, and those who are not working).
ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/suppl/empsit.cpseea1.txt
Other numbers I have read imply that about 22,000,000 are either unemployed, or under employed. There is currently no way to track and verify the status of the folks who no longer collect benefits and are not working. The surveys used to count the unemployed/under-employed etc are of course, statistical approximations.
http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts

[MiddleMolly]

12:24 PM on 12/22/2010

Spinotter is right that one's status in terms of unemployment benefits does not impact the UI rate. The UI rate counts people who are unemployed and have actively looked for work during the past four weeks. But Trepasky's number of unemployed are basically correct. There are 15,000,000 people who were counted as unemployed during November 2010.

There are also approximately 9,000,000 who are working part-time because they can't find full-time jobs. And there are another 1,200,000 discouraged workers who feel that there are no jobs for them.

Now, these numbers are misleading. They don't count people working temp full-time jobs or short-term "consulting" gigs as among the unemployed. People who had to take early retirement because they couldn't find jobs are often not counted. People who have taken jobs at a reduced rate of pay but who continue to look for more appropriate work are not counted. People who are self-employed may not be counted, even if they are making only a pittance from their micro business. The BLS unemployment situation report does not come close to estimating the suffering of the people of this country.

[Concerned about the law]

02:07 PM on 12/24/2010

True. But the banks have never really suffered. Not the big ones.

[caroline25]

08:55 AM on 12/22/2010

I heard Chris Matthews call the Republicans Trolls under the bridge. It fits perfect.

[Trepasky]

09:09 AM on 12/22/2010

I will gladly swap you my 'funemployment check' for your job.

[TMMA]

12:20 PM on 12/22/2010

@Trepasky: You have been Fanned.

[bong-o-boy]

10:48 AM on 12/22/2010

this is proof that most of the animosity and cruelty harbored and displayed against the unemployed is from jealous low life wannabe unemployed losers who have horrible jobs and secretly wish they were on the dole too...

[MiddleMolly]

11:43 AM on 12/22/2010

There's some truth in that.

[Sandy Salgado Swalm]

11:50 AM on 12/22/2010

I so agree with you.... I had a full time job and never thought I would be out of work for over a year and 5 months. I now have a PART TIME JOB and trying to pay my bills and eat..........FOOLs think that unemployment is a luxury.....I would not wish this on my worst enemy..

[caroline25]

08:40 AM on 12/22/2010

Their actions are making people sick. The President by ignoring the 99ers is showing disrespect to us and segregating the population into the haves and have nots. Respect comes from the top down. If he doesn't show this, then no one else will. How do we get that Legislation passed. He made us invisible and we have been ignored and shunned. It has to come from him first. He is very tight lipped about recognizing us. They got the tax cuts but our kids and grand children will pay for it for a long time and yet these kids now who are so invisible and so unreal to them won't be fed or have a Christmas.

[MiddleMolly]

11:47 AM on 12/22/2010

The situation of the 99ers is horrible; it really is. But there really isn't a big divide between the 99ers and the other unemployed people. 2009 was a terrible year in terms of layoffs. 600 to 700 thousand were completing first time claims for unemployment every week. Well, guess what....extensions or no extensions, the people who were laid off in early 2009 who have not yet found jobs are going to be joining the 99ers very soon. And every week of this extension, another large group of people will join the 99ers as they lost their jobs in 2009. By the end of the year, with a hostile Republican House, all of those who lost their jobs in 2010 are going to be getting increasingly desperate.

Unless there is a huge turnaround in hiring during the year, this is the time for 99ers and all who are unemployed to fall back and regroup.

A year will come and go very quickly.

[TMMA]

12:23 PM on 12/22/2010

In the State of CA - 15,000 more 99ers added in the last 15 DAYS! (12/6/10 and 12/21/10).

[ritamary]

10:56 PM on 12/22/2010

Because I am still collecting an unemployment check I am now a "have"? No health care, no transportation, one bedroom in a senior housing complex and I am a "have". Who knew. The race to the bottom is accelerating.

[spinotter11]

10:05 AM on 12/23/2010

You are better off than the 99ers, you must admit. You have more than they do.

[Concerned about the law]

02:10 PM on 12/24/2010

Hi! Rita.

None of us knew it could be this bad or evil. We never knew that banks would enable Ponzi schemes and get Federal assistance from the Federal Reserve at the same time.

In the legal world, at least in California, attorneys and everyone in the legal world is suffering.

No one is getting rich fast.

It is crazy making.

[MadHeart]

08:16 AM on 12/22/2010

No one really cares. There are no jobs out there, even though my grandson lost his UI in Oct. Furthermore, we've been cheated on our food stamp allotment to the tune of $100 a month because the worker made a "mistake". Waiting for that $500+ to be added to the card for all those months we scrimped on food. Now, we'll be getting the extra $100 every mo, but until I complained, no one cared. We're still working on getting the baby Medicaid, but no one cares right now at Social Services who claims his mother has it (even though my GS has had custody since the baby was 3 wks old). They don't care, they won't look into it, and we've been given the runaround for close to a year. And yet, these people have jobs? They should fire them all and start over. There are plenty of caring people out there who could do much, much better.

[MiddleMolly]

11:49 AM on 12/22/2010

You don't know very much about this family's situation, do you? You have no idea what kind of jobs these people did, what skills they have, etc., but you can somehow be hostile towards them?

If there is anyway in which I've gained during the past two years, which have been difficult times for us, it is that I have become a more compassionate human being. I hope that you also experience some of the misery that others are enduring so that you may also become more compassionate.

[gypsy508]

11:05 AM on 12/22/2010

It is pretty annoying when you see incompetent people working and you can't get an interview. We all go through that one. You are lucky the UI people never made a mistake. It takes a month just to get ahold of someone.

[Arts4u]

02:31 PM on 12/22/2010

Yup, and a few more weeks to get an interview... and then a few more weeks waiting for them to decide if they're going to add anyone... and then a few more weeks deciding if they want someone as a consultant or part time. Endless... endless..... I personally know of two people who have killed themselves over this... so it's time for us to take this problem seriously... we are talking about lives here!

[jws2346]

06:36 AM on 12/22/2010

What grand news. Gives new meaning "to the checks in the mail".