Posted on 08/01/2009 3:55:16 PM PDT by Steelfish
Prolonged Aid to Unemployed Is Running Out
ERIK ECKHOLM August 1, 2009
Over the coming months, as many as 1.5 million jobless Americans will exhaust their unemployment insurance benefits, ending what for some has been a last bulwark against foreclosures and destitution.
Because of emergency extensions already enacted by Congress, laid-off workers in nearly half the states can collect benefits for up to 79 weeks, the longest period since the unemployment insurance program was created in the 1930s.
But unemployment in this recession has proved to be especially tenacious, and a wave of job-seekers is using up even this prolonged aid.
Tens of thousands of workers have already used up their benefits, and the numbers are expected to soar in the months to come, reaching half a million by the end of September and 1.5 million by the end of the year, according to new projections by the National Employment Law Project, a private research group.
Unemployment insurance is now a lifeline for nine million Americans, with payments averaging just over $300 per week, varying by state and work history.
While many recipients find new jobs before exhausting their benefits, large numbers in the current recession have been unable to find work for a year or more.
Calls are rising for Congress to pass yet another extension this fall, possibly adding 13 more weeks of coverage in states with especially high unemployment. As of June, the national unemployment rate was 9.5 percent, reaching 15.2 percent in Michigan.
Even if the recession begins to ease, economists say, jobs will remain scarce for some time to come.
“If more help is not on the way, by September a huge wave of workers will start running out of their critical extended benefits, and many will have nothing left to get by...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Which will be reported as "a drop in unemployment".
OTOH, here is how an increase in GDP of 2.9% and 4.8% unemployment under Bush was reported.
There's no need to fear Obama Dog is here!
The jobs are there as soon as the shovels are ready.
Thanks for that posting.
Two words: Misery Index
Not to worry, Big Brother will take care of all their needs; cradle to grave. After all, Congress truly cares especially about your health care. Just listen to Pelosi, Reid, and the rest of the lying hypocrites. Oh, and don’t forget Zero; he cares; however, it’s only HIM he cares about and power.
But can't we toss a trillion or three at it just to say that we did something and when (if) the economy recovers on it's own use the spending bills to take credit for a fix?
But money will eventually leak into the economy, from one bucket or another. One way is extending unemployment benefits, because the government will not tolerate riots when there are two million unemployed. It will also prop up the stock market every time it drops, and will prop up pension funds soon.
There is no more money for longer benefits. What will they do when even more people need the guaranteed 26 weeks and these people have already blew through 40 weeks of unemployment? Time to go get in line for Welfare if you qualify.
If they truly cared about the poor folks out of work, they wouldn't be passing all the expensive job killing legislation like cap and tax and the health care debacle.
Just give a speech that you care is more important I presume than actually doing something about a problem.
Unemployment benefits last for 79 weeks...wow.
Well we’ve had a very enlightening few weeks talking to guys in the construction industry who have been laid off or whose work has slowed, but have told us how they’re managing to make it. We are renovating a home and had planned on doing much of the work ourselves but the “deals” have been too good to pass up.
Some of the independent contractors for small jobs advertise on craigslist, and give a big discount. One guy who put in gutters (which we were going to tackle ourselves) had such an attractive price, not too much more than it would have been for us to buy the gutters retail. Another guy who’s putting up fencing, charges by the foot, his price is very low, but the catch is you have to put in a certain number of feet to get that price.
Then there’s the independent contractors that cooperate, so to speak with one another. Many of these small contractors seem to have banded together to get work done, and by doing this, they increase their work and pay. Say 5 independent painters agree to work together, each has a differnet referral base, but when one of them gets a job, they all show up on that job and knock it out in a matter of hours, not days. Then they split the profit.
This has helped them keep working because instead of waiting around for the phone to ring and not making any money, there’s the likelihood that one of the five will be asked to do a job, then by sharing the work that frees them up to move quickly on another job should it present itself. Once again, American ingenuity...we were impressed with their resourcefulness and spirit of cooperation.
They care about themselves, power, power, power, ego, ego, ego, greed, greed, greed.
Always good to read between the lines from statist news sources, as there are often traces of where they might be going. This one does not dissapoint. Looks like the feds are thinking of aiding just -8bama states... they probably have the "highest unemployment", and certainly some of the fed's own doing.
Scary stuff.
In Oregon, 79 weeks. And the legislature created another extension to grant another 13. Congress is talking about another 13 to 20 weeks on top of current extensions.
Folks, this is how ‘Disasters’ make Despots.
Can you say “riots”?
I knew you could...
Most of these people are gaming the system. Sitting on their asses and watching daytime TV. The jobs are out there, fricking wash dishes or make Subway sandwiches and swallow your pride. Who cares it’s an honest buck.
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