So, it turns out that in the last round of UI benefit extension/payroll tax cut extension talks, a teeny weeny thing was quietly changed that is now resulting in an estimated 200,000 Americans unexpectedly losing their unemployment compensation today. No warning.
More below the fold....
So apparently, back in February they changed the minimum criteria for which a state could qualify for the Federal Extended Benefits program, or FED-ED. The California Employment Development Department explains:
One of the extension programs, typically the final round of extensions known as the FED-ED here in California, is now coming to an end. The state Employment Development Department (EDD) has been notified by the U.S. Department of Labor that the state no longer meets the minimum criteria for providing FED-ED extension benefits. While California’s total unemployment rate remains high, the three month average is not 10% higher than it was during the same three month period during one of the last three years as required by the federal program.
And there is this little tidbit:
Updated: Number of individuals who have run out of benefits is now over 677,000
While lower unemployment is good news,
California is still at 11% unemployment. Come on - people still need help out here! My 65 year old mom is one of these people losing her benefits. She just found out yesterday that as of
now she is no longer receiving checks. Happy Mothers Day.
Other states that will be cut from the program as of today are:
The latest round of cuts that take effect in eight states this Saturday will affect more than 200,000 long-term unemployed workers and account for the biggest number of workers to be hit so far, as states like California, Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania and Texas are all being phased out at the same time. In California, nearly 100,000 workers are being cut from the extended benefits this week.
Good going, dems. Here's the
roll call on the vote:
Yeas Nays PRES NV
Republican 146 91 4
Democratic 147 41 4
Independent
TOTALS 293 132 8
I understand that these guys were under the gun to extend benefits, but it seems to me they threw about 200,000 people under the bus a mere three months later to do it. Who suggested criteria dependent upon a decrease in the UI rate, as opposed to an actual number? 11% is still pretty frickin' high. Who knows - I can't find it but I can bet they're not Democrats. This is one of those squirmy little deals that dems probably made in hopes that it would go unnoticed.
Well, it didn't. Good thing my business is going better now - my mothers day present is going to be helping my mom pay her rent for June.
Here's a little more info:
The "job-seekers' ratio" is still higher than it was in the early 2000's - The odds of finding a job are improving, but are still stacked against job seekers
And:
As the attached chart shows, from January to February, four states were cut from 13 to 20 weeks of unemployment insurance; on April 7th and April 21st, another 15 states were dropped off; on May 12th, eight more states will be dropped off. By the end of September, another seven states will drop off, which will eventually bring the total to 34 states facing reduced federal assistance to the long-term unemployed. In these high-unemployment states, the maximum amount of unemployment insurance available to jobless workers will be 79 weeks – and those weeks will decline further when additional federal cuts start to take effect.