Unemployment benefits extended 13 weeks
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The unemployment extension, passed November 5, 2009, was included in a bill with the homebuyer tax credit, and now millions of Americans can continue to collect benefits. The homebuyer tax credit was extended to 2010 in April. The unemployment extension means workers whose unemployment insurance was set to run out before the end of the year can collect benefits for an additional 14 weeks.
In states with especially high unemployment rates, the unemployment extension includes six weeks in addition to the 14-week extension. People collecting unemployment in states with rates higher than 8.5 percent will be eligible for a 20-week unemployment extension after the president signs the bill tomorrow morning.
Who is paying for the unemployment extension?
Don’t worry, you won’t have to go into tax debt because of this bill. The government isn’t taking money from tax payers just to turn around and give tax credits to those same taxpayers. The unemployment extension will be paid for the same way unemployment insurance has always been paid. That wouldn’t make any sense. CNN reports:
The proposal would be funded by extending a longstanding federal unemployment tax on employers through June 30, 2011.
How many people does the unemployment extension cover?
Nearly 2 million people collecting unemployment in the U.S. are scheduled to have their benefits expire before the end of the year. The sad thing is, if Congress had agreed on this bill sooner, 200,000 Americans could have gotten their unemployment extension, too. CNN reports:
The Senate had been bickering over the details since September, and that cost more than 200,000 people their benefits. Some 7,000 unemployed Americans run out of benefits each day, according to the National Employment Law Project.
The national unemployment rate now is 9.8 percent, the highest it has been in 26 years. Tomorrow, the day the president signs the bill, new unemployment statistics will be released. I wonder if that had anything to do with Congress finally deciding to pass the unemployment extension on November 5, 2009.
I have yet to understand how it is taking NC, SC and TN so much longer than some of the other states to add a few lines of programming to their current programs. It would go something like this, If benefit $ = 0 and benefit year was prior to whenever of 2007 then pay weekly amount. It has been some years since I did any programming and I am not using factual info just this as an example of how simple it is to add a couple of lines to change the program. Is our Information Technology staff that is employed by NC ESC so much less qualified than the other states that it is taking them so much longer to do the same thing? If that is the case maybe I need to take a few courses to brush up on my skills in that area and maybe I can get one of their jobs. I would certainly know how it felt to be in the unemployed workers shoes and would try my level best to expedite payments as fast as possible even if it meant working longer hours. Hey NC hire some top notch IT consultants for a day, I am sure they could have it up and running. You would have thought that they would have at least made a huge effort to get the money out before christmas.
My wife has been on NC unemployment rolls and waiting for the newest extension to kick in. NC has a letter on their “unemployment extension” page stating it will take 6 weeks to update the new “tiers” and they have a letter stating that Dec 30, ‘09 people will be notified if they qualify. I can tell you that it’s rediculous to wait all these weeks and at Christmas too. Bah Humbug NC..
It is hard trying to survive in this day and time with no jobs available. I was under the assumption that the extensin would kick in as soon as the other ran out. I am a NC resident and mine just ran out with no warning or anyting. I sure hope that the problem is fixed by now and I qualify for the extension. I know several people that have been drawing theirs for about two years. You know that NC is one of the highest rate of unemployed?
My SC extensions ran out August 2009 until SC fixed a flaw in its unemployment law and sent out 7 weeks of checks. That was in October. November 6, President Obama signed into law additional extensions. I went to a local SC Employment Commission office and was told that Columbia was telling them that these extensions do not exist–one woman on staff had told me that she did not even know what I was talking about. I was also told I would be contacted by mail if I was eligible.
me too, ran out in september, on unemployment web site says claim is in will be processed, but 2 months without a paycheck is hard. Three weeks now that the system has been in. How long will it be before the checks start????
i know 1 thing i have waiting 3 weeks since i was called about my eligibilty and in 2 days is thanksgiving so what i want 2 know is when are we going 2 get paid
DO SOME RESEARCH PEOPLE!!!!!! I love it when people can’t figure out if they will get the extension or not. Try a google search or better yet, call or visit your state’s unemployment offices. All you have to google is 14 week unemployment extension and it’s quite easy to figure out. No one will get the extra 6 weeks unless the benefits are extended into 2010.
will michigan the unemployment exstention and will i get a letter..
One would think that a news source of somekind would put out an answer to the question we all have. My benefits expired in mid October 2009. I’ve already pawned all my jewelry and I can’t get any help from my parents because I can’t answer this question,..does the extension include the people whose benefits ran out while the senators who are paid quiet handsomly by we the taxpayers played with themselves,.took long lunches and went home and slept a peaceful sleep why we inch closer to a nervous breakdown. My Uc office in Pa said “you will be notified by mail IF you qualify” what if I dont,.will I get a letter saying that or am I going to wait for the mail everyday for no reason. There are no jobs,..there should be plans for yet another extension under way ,..we shouldnt have to wait because none of them are doing the job WE pay them to do.
How and when can I expect to receive
notification to apply for my unemploy
extension, My last ck was in Sept 209
how long do we have to wait now for
this to be final for us
so is this for every state oe just some i guess i am confused
no this is only 4 certain states not sure which ones but i know ohio because that is where i lived and i have already recieved my eligibilty call.
hazel do u know when ohio will start receiving their checks i have 3 weeks still pending from this new extension and have not received a check since nov. 1
It took sooo long for the senate to pass this, why should they try to hurry and push it through? “They aren’t standing in the unemployment line”. Because this guy didn’t agree with that one, over something that probably wasn’t even that important, people are struggling to keep their utilities on. With the times we are dealing with and todays technology this is crazy. Even now that it has finally passed, it will still be weeks before anyone actually receives anything because the people eligible have to be notified and the system has to be reprogrammed.
I think this new extension covers anyone who’s benefits have already expired or will expire by Dec. 26, 2009.
Does this mean that if my unemployment ran out in September 2009 that I am not elegible for the November 2009. How does this help those of us that already have run out and why wouldn’t they include us
They better include us in this extention. My benefits ran out in Sept. too and my family and I are barely scraping by. If we get left out in the cold I know 2 senetors who better grow eyes in the back of there heads.
Don,
Did u know threatening a government official is a felony? good luck getting your unemployment check….. in prison. Maybe if you are lucky they will give you a Petroleum Jelly allowance.
My unemployment benefits had run out 4 weeks ago and it was my only source of sufficient income. Its seems that everything that could add to my financial regress happened. It isn’t enough (my benefits) but I’m truely relieved that congress didn’t drag this out as long as December.