Prompted by Connecticut and other states with rising unemployment, the House is taking up emergency legislation this week to help the millions of Americans who see no immediate end to their economic miseries.
A bill offered by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., and expected to pass easily would provide 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for more than 300,000 jobless people who live in states with unemployment rates of at least 8.5 percent and who are scheduled to run out of benefits by the end of September.
Connecticut unemployment rose to 8.1 percent in August, but Gov. M. Jodi Rell last week joined with governors in other states to press Congress for the benefits extension.
The 13-week extension would supplement the 26 weeks of benefits most states offer and the federally funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved in legislation last year and in the stimulus bill enacted last February.
People from North Carolina to California “have been calling my office to tell me they still cannot find work a year or more after becoming unemployed, and they need some additional help to keep their heads above water,” McDermott said.
Critics of unemployment insurance argue that it can be a disincentive to looking for work, and that extending benefits at a time the economy is showing signs of recovery could be counterproductive.
But this recession has been particularly pernicious to the job market, others say.
Some 5 million people, about one-third of those on the unemployment list, have been without a job for six months or more, a record since data started being recorded in 1948, according to the research and advocacy group National Employment Law Project.
“It smashes any other figure we have ever seen. It is an unthinkable number,” said Andrew Stettner, NELP’s deputy director. He said there are currently about six jobless people for every job opening, so it’s unlikely people are purposefully living off unemployment insurance while waiting for something better to come along.
The current state unemployment check is about $300 a month, supplemented by $25 included in the stimulus act.
That doesn’t go very far when a loaf of bread can cost $2.79 and a gallon of milk $2.72, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said at a hearing last week on the unemployment insurance issue.
“We need to keep our unemployed neighbors from falling into poverty. We need to figure out how best to make our safety net work,” Baucus said.
The jobless rate currently stands at 9.7 percent and is likely to hover above 10 percent for much of 2010. Gary Burtless, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said at the Finance Committee hearing that, according to Labor Department figures, 51 percent of unemployment insurance claimants exhausted their regular benefits in July, the highest rate ever.
“It is likely the exhaustion rate will continue to increase in coming months” as the unemployment rate continues to rise, he said.
Stettner predicted that Congress will likely have to continue extending jobless benefits through 2011. (AP)
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Reader response:
“I believe that unemployment benefits should be extended b/c in this economy everyone is fighting for one job and it’s tough. I’ve been looking FOREVER and I know without help from unemployment I can’t survive in this economy. I hope they make a decision soon. Please keep giving updates on this matter. Thank you.” — Emily
“Soooo how does this help CT with an unemployment rate of 8.1%???” — Tom, unemployed
“Its great that CT is for this but why hasn’t anyone discussed some extended benefits for states like CT who don’t qualify under the current bills in congress. I can’t wait until CT hits 8.5%. I have bills to pay!” — Renee
“My rate of unemployment is 100%, and I have a recently-acquired Masters degree, from a CT-located university. I need my $163 per week, if even for 13 weeks longer.” — Martin, unemployed
“What they also need to do, is to help create jobs by getting the banks to lend money or a program to give start up funds for people to start their own Business!’ ‘– Patricia Bruhn, Pebbles Graphics Â
