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Unemployment Now Lasts Longer Than Benefits

By John Johnson,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 3, 2009 9:54 AM CDT
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(Newser) – A rough milestone on the jobless front: The average length of time it takes to find a job—26.2 weeks—now exceeds the standard length of unemployment benefits—26 weeks. That's first time it's happened since the Labor Department began keeping stats 60 years ago, reports Bloomberg. The bit of good news for job-seekers is that Congress has temporarily extended benefits up to 59 weeks in hard-hit states and is working on another extension.

Bob Hillman, right, the National Career Fairs event coordinator, right, talks to attendees prior to the start of a job fair in Richmond, Va., Friday, Oct. 2, 2009.
Bob Hillman, right, the National Career Fairs event coordinator, right, talks to attendees prior to the start of a job fair in Richmond, Va., Friday, Oct. 2, 2009.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
A job fair in Richmond, Va., on Friday.
A job fair in Richmond, Va., on Friday.   (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
A job fair in Louisville, Ky., Friday.
A job fair in Louisville, Ky., Friday.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
drlarrymitchell
Oct 4, 2009 8:36 AM CDT
You're a hick. Unless you have something edifying to add to the conversation, sit on your hands and shut the fuck up,.
schmidtkoff
Oct 4, 2009 1:37 AM CDT
@snarfeh - doingrigh "erred" as usual.
divetrader
Oct 3, 2009 10:41 AM CDT
Once again, government is not at fault for all that ails us. doingtherightthing would like to put all the fault on the President and Congress. They certainly play a role. But big corporations pay them thru lobbyist to get them to do their bidding. Corps are only interested in what looks good to people who watch the stock market. Then they can lay off a bunch of workers, move to the Caymens and not even pay their taxes. (I.E folks, Fascism is what has been building in our country since Reagan.) Corporations control the media and thus the info to the masses. Plus they control the government. And they want to control more. I believe they are trying to pass a bill to allow corporations to donate unlimited sums of money to political interests. It just keeps getting better.
US • Money

 
recession • unemployment • jobless claims • unemployment benefits • jobless • unemployment rate

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