Ext umemployment benefit claim rises

yaobooyao

The government said Thursday that 570,000 laid-off workers filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the number of people receiving benefits to 6.23 million. The Labor Department is expected to report Friday that the August unemployment rate rose to 9.5 percent, up from 9.4 percent in July.

Some 3.4 million people now depend upon extended benefits approved by Congress lasting anywhere from 20 weeks to a year — the longest period of extensions ever added.

The length of these extensions vary by state, depending on the unemployment rate. More than half of all states have unemployment rates that triggered 53 weeks of extended benefits.

The government does not track how many jobless Americans have exhausted both their standard and extended benefits, but experts estimate the figure to be nearly 100,000 — and rising.

According to the National Employment Law Project, more than 402,000 Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of September. That figure will more than triple by the end of December unless Congress — or individual states — authorizes another extension.

Legislation has been introduced to provide an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits in states with high jobless rates; the bill, introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Washington, has 23 co-sponsors, including two Republicans.

Unemployment benefits play an important part in stabilizing the economy because recipients tend to spend their weekly checks, rather than saving the money or paying down debt.

dennis