Unemployed To Lose Benefits In Several States

WASHINGTON -- People receiving long-term unemployment insurance will get fewer weeks of benefits as a federal program is phased out early next month in several states.

The federal Extended Benefits program, which in states with high-unemployment rates grants claimants out of work for a long period of time a final 13 to 20 weeks of benefits, will be phased out on April 7 in Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin, according to an analysis by the National Employment Law Project, a worker advocacy group.

State labor departments were notified of the changes by the U.S. Labor Department in a complex March 5 memo. States, in turn, are trying to explain what's going on to those who will no longer receive checks through the Extended Benefits program.

HuffPost readers: Losing your unemployment benefits? Tell HuffPost all about it. Email [e-mail]. Please include your phone number if you're willing to be interviewed.

In February, Congress reauthorized Extended Benefits for the rest of the year but did not allow states to keep the program if their unemployment rates had not risen compared with a corresponding period period three years ago. Because unemployment rates have slowly declined since 2009, the program will be completely phased out over the course of this year.

But Congress did soften the impact of benefit cut for any state where the unemployment rate is above 8.5 percent: Some states slated to lose Extended Benefits next month will grant claimants extra weeks through the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program -- for an additional 10-week benefits boost until the end of May.

According to a memo from the Congressional Research Service, Kentucky, Oregon, South Carolina and Tennessee will lose Extended Benefits but will be eligible for the 10 extra weeks, which are added to the fourth and final "tier" of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.

By the end of the year, the maximum length of combined state and federal benefits will decline from 99 weeks to 73 weeks.

The February law also created new work-search requirements for claimants in federal programs. While nearly every state already requires applicants to actively search for work to receive benefits, federal law reaffirms the requirement and also forces workers to maintain detailed records of job applications. Additionally, states are now required to assess claimants' work skills and try to connect them with jobs if they tap federal benefits after having already exhausted the maximum six months of state benefits.

Congress also said states could drug test certain workers applying for benefits, but the Labor Department has not yet issued a rule clarifying which workers states can force to do so.

Comments

[freestuff4all]

10:12 AM on 12/28/2012

This is caused by Sandy, Fox News, Mitt, Republicans and the Tea Party.

Obama was playing golf on his watch so you can’t blame him.

[Jeff Larchick]

12:20 PM on 08/10/2012

Guess the GOP doesn't care about americans, they only care about communist chinese and billionares overseas accounts getting stuffed with cash!

[Dana1982]

11:52 AM on 07/03/2012

Why would anyone want 4 more years of this mess?

[Whyalwaysme]

09:49 AM on 04/28/2012

If the population is increasing as fast as they make out, it's just not possible to find the jobs people can do to keep up with the new ways of life, these over populated areas cant help unemployment, new ground has to be made avalable for new towns and citys, somewhere for the younger generation to progress. the answeres are so easy, and please knowbody ask where is the money going to come from, the governments need to stop waisting tax payers money for a start.

[Mark Mark]

09:35 PM on 04/26/2012

There are lots of jobs out there, they're just not good ones. I was unemployed for a long time. Now I work TWO jobs both part tiime, but at least one has benefits. But still at 60 hours a week, I STILL make less than my 40 hour a week job I lost. This is the problem, there are jobs but they are low paid, or part time jobs. You can't say my $67,000 a year job lost is made up by two part time $12.hr jobs. But the statistics show where there was one job, there's two. Of course they fail to account for my loss in pay and the fact ONE worker is filling TWO jobs

[DanORants]

03:14 PM on 04/26/2012

I have a feeling we will see a dip in unemployment when people are FORCED to find a job.

Creating a careerbuilder.com profile and skimming on craigslist is not the way you do it.

[SirenForSanity]

07:56 PM on 04/26/2012

4 to 1, simple math. 4 people for every job opening, and still people will say 'get a job.'

[DanORants]

08:58 PM on 04/26/2012

First, let me point out that there are job openings (according to your statistics)... In a perfect world we would have a 3 to 0 ratio.

ALSO, assuming your statistics are correct, why not encourage the remaining 75% to earn work on their own doing something they might be good at? Good with computers? Charge people to fix their computer! Mow a mean lawn? You can see where I am going. As a kid, instead of enjoying a snow-day from school doing nothing, I went door to door offering to shovel snow, at $50/driveway!

So, no... I am not saying "get a job"... I am saying Stop giving people incentive to NOT be productive, and stop the rhetoric that makes people believe - they themselves, cannot create a job!

[sherbertson]

05:08 PM on 06/09/2012

Of course unemployment will dip. When people aren't on unemployment, they aren't counted in the statistics. The real numbers will only show up after the next tax season, when the numbers will show how many people started in one tax bracket a couple years ago, and are now in the lowest brackets.

[realitytrumpsbull]

04:31 PM on 04/19/2012

I think we should start tent cities, semi-communal, semi-organized, centralized living arrangements for people that have fallen/failed out of regular Con Me. The Government is subsidizing the public one way or another, whether it's a defense contract or food stamps, so hey, let's think about some efficiency, here, including having a more detailed discussion about the aspects of indirect subsidy, all the slumlords that'll be going out of business when their tenants finally go bust and move out, the grocery stores that would've shut their doors a long time ago without food stamp recipients, utility companies and and and. Daisy chain of government payola...

[fullofmitt]

08:03 PM on 04/15/2012

...but the rich and the Corps still get to keep their tax cuts! Nope..no class warfare! LOL!

[nutsaccoupe63]

04:38 AM on 04/09/2012

this government is just so full of crap its amazing, if they ever told the truth about anything i'd seriously be stunned, i'm not talking left right. its BOTH

the real unemploymemt rate is most likely 25% tell the truth just once,, they act like no one knows lol

[Larnan55]

04:38 PM on 04/06/2012

Anyone know any Senator or Representative unemployed?
That's why they just don't care.....

[fullofmitt]

08:05 PM on 04/15/2012

Yeah..they're employed by the Federal Government..who doesn't create jobs! Well it created THEIR jobs!

[tin soldier]

12:30 PM on 04/26/2012

No. the people created their jobs according to the constitution,
But the government created 32 czars and 22 personal attendents for the first lady , and investment into green enery companies that go bankrupt and miilions into green autos that don't work,, all this was done with the approval of the elected officials, so now the only recourse is to vote them out, People are losing benefits and we have 32 czars and their combined staffs and why does the FLOTUS need 22 attendents ( not white house domestic help ) personal attendents

[iLdoRight]

02:04 AM on 04/02/2012

Sure glad I quit wasting money on cigarettes, booze, new clothing, cars, movies expensive food and most other foolishness 45 years ago.

[beastwarrior]

04:44 PM on 03/22/2012

the only truly accurate measurement of u/i is provided by John Williams of Shadowstats, which has unemployment at almost double the rate posted by the corporate government and the main stream media. any person getting cut off u/i should be emailing, calling, or writing to the state they are in to make the state count them. staying quiet and falling into extreme poverty- the next level for many of us, cannot happen unless you let it happen

[Six Mill]

09:00 PM on 03/22/2012

...or go get a job. one is for real, the other is just playing around.

[urnmyopinion]

05:55 PM on 04/06/2012

A person can find work, but not the job that pays what he wants is the biggest problem. It is hard for someone to go to work for someone paying ten dollars a hour when they were making 20 or more. But look at the bright side, if they have been on unemployment for a long time, 10 dollars a hour is good. They might have to trade their white shirt in for a work shirt though. maybe they will qualify for welfare now.

[gerald4]

06:53 PM on 03/20/2012

Without profitable US businesses, US corporations, and US businessmen, there will NOT BE ANY JOBS for US citizens to create wealth for those businesses, except for tax payer funded jobs which will also disappear if businesses stop creating NATIONAL WEALTH that would be available for that some of that new wealth to be CONFISCATED via taxes pay for economic stimulus such as bureaucratic government jobs, government contracts, unemployment benefits, social security benefits, welfare benefits, National Healthcare, wars, police, firefighters, infrastructure improvements and various other tax paid government activities.

The US federal government must stop creating new legislation that drives US businesses and those US jobs to foreign countries.

The US federal government should repeal the laws that they previously created that caused and economically required US businesses and their US jobs to relocate to foreign nations.

[special38x2]

08:49 PM on 03/21/2012

Amen...!

[gerald4]

05:00 PM on 03/22/2012

Thanks

[JeanVA]

02:49 PM on 04/19/2012

What laws would those be?

[gerald4]

03:45 PM on 04/19/2012

The FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS, GATT, WTO, MFN for China, Repeal of the Glass-Stegal Act with the Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999, H-1b visas, etc., health care payroll tax costs, unemployment payroll tax costs, social security and medical care payroll tax costs, EPA environmental compliance manufacturing costs, fringe (holiday and vacation) benefit payroll costs, OSHA compliance payroll costs, union labor work rules, anti-business laws, and general anti-business attitudes that make manufacturing products in the USA many many times more costly than manufacturing the same product in almost any other foreign country and other laws have ECONOMICALLY REQUIRED that US jobs be relocated to foreign nations.

[GOP Lie Detector]

02:40 PM on 03/20/2012

Don't worry unemployed folks that are now out of the system. The GOP will mention you (As a group) when they say Obama is rigging the unemployment numbers. Even though the numbers have been calculated the same way for decades.

Unfortunately this is all the GOP/Republicans have for you. They are still in the business of shipping jobs to China so don't bother looking for a job in the town you live.....unless you live in Bejing.

[DEmusicman]

02:49 PM on 03/20/2012

True, the GOP gives one three choices: K-Y, Vaseline or dry....

[Tired of the Bullies]

03:46 PM on 03/20/2012

How about we worry about who is fixing the problem rather than the blame game....none of them are fixing it...period

[gerald4]

01:42 PM on 03/20/2012

Unemployed US citizens should thank President Clinton who destroyed US jobs and the US domestic industrial protection policies (Import Tariffs) with his signing into law of NAFTA, H-1b visas, GATT, WTO, Most Favored Nation (MFN) status for China.

President Clinton also signed the “Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999” that repealed “The Glass-Steagall Act”, etc. while he was president.

Businesses who hire US citizens at many times the cost of Asian labor, Asian energy, and Asian environmental compliance know that they will (probably) not be able to sell their products in the USA, or anywhere else in the World.

President George W. Bush created 14 additional FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS (with Jordan, Morocco, and other young democracies of Central America) in order to relocate millions more US jobs to foreign nations.

President Obama has also created many new FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS with Vietnam, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Peru and several other Asian and South American nations and this legislation will export millions of jobs from the USA to those foreign nations.

[gerald4]

01:50 PM on 03/20/2012

Those manufacturing jobs that relocated to foreign countries are gone forever, until the US congress repeals all of the US "FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS" that they created, and then install import tariffs that protect the benefits and the pay scales of US labor.

FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS created the Global Market that created international competition for Labor, Electrical Energy, and Environmental Costs, so that the nation offering the lowest total cost for making each product gets the factory and the jobs to make that products.

US FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS and treaties mean that US workers must (generally) compete with foreign worker pay scales, benefit packages (none), the more productive foreign labor work rules (none), foreign corporate tax rates (lower or non-existent), property taxes (lower) and the lower environmental manufacturing costs that are available in foreign countries.

If US citizens are not willing to work for lower wages than the foreigner workers employed in foreign countries are paid, then the USA cannot compete based upon lower product costs since US located businesses must pay EPA compliance costs, unemployment payroll costs, Medicare payroll costs, FICA payroll costs, and other costs PILED ON TOP of US labor payroll costs.

If US Businesses cannot compete on lower product costs, then maybe we could become competitive internationally through other areas such as superior technology, as the USA did to win WWII and for a couple of decades following WWII when Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics was the focus of our educational systems, instead ot non-STEM.

[OldTulsan]

04:04 PM on 03/20/2012

Only one engineering discipline mentioned in the BLS Fastest growing occupations: biomedical engineer:

http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_table_103.htm
Fastest growing occupations

[DEmusicman]

02:50 PM on 03/20/2012

And your zero hero, the boy king Bu$h, was so superb you clowns can't even mention him anymore.....

[gerald4]

04:44 PM on 03/20/2012

Drunk little Frat Boys are not my heros.

Presidents Clinton, Bush, Obama, and the Republican and the Democratic US congressmen that created FREE TRADE AGREEMENT laws that economically require US businesses to relocate and/or outsource labor expenditures as much as possible to reduce labor costs, environmental production compliance costs, electrical power costs, taxes, material costs and energy costs as much as possible if they want to satisfy the US consumer's demand for the lowest price possible for the US consumer's purchases are my enemies.