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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: unemployment benefits

unemployment benefits stories: 34 news summaries

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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... More »

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

States Pass on Stimulus Money for Unemployed

$3.1B sitting unused in federal coffers

Aug 31, 09 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - More than $3.1 billion in stimulus money earmarked for the unemployed is idling in federal coffers, USA Today reports, because 23 states haven’t expanded their unemployment benefits in order to qualify. Another 350,000 workers could receive benefits if they did, according to one worker advocacy group.... More »

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Rick Perry • unemployment • unemployment benefits • economic stimulus package

(Newser) - As many as 1.5 million Americans will lose unemployment benefits by the end of the year, reports the New York Times. Some 9 million Americans currently receive an average of $300 a week in unemployment, and many in the current recession have failed to find work for a year... More »

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recession • unemployment • job market • unemployment benefits

(Newser) - It's like a second, mini-stimulus. Lawmakers from both parties are pushing to extend the life of various tax breaks and benefits included in the original $787 billion stimulus package, the Hill reports. All told, the wish list adds up to about $88 billion. The biggest chunk of that would be... More »

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Congress • unemployment benefits • tax credit • stimulus funds

(Newser) - Years of tax and budget cuts have left the nation's unemployment system badly weakened just as it's most needed, the New York Times reports. At least a million applications are still stuck in the system and many applicants have to wait months for their first check. Sixteen states have... More »

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recession • unemployment • unemployment benefits • benefits • payroll taxes

 Welfare Rolls Soar 
 Along With Unemployment 

Many make shift as jobless benefits run out

Jun 22, 09 7:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Welfare rolls are on the rise nationwide for the first time since President Clinton signed a bill overhauling the system in 1996, the Wall Street Journal reports. Welfare recipients’ ranks fell in some areas at the beginning of the recession, but now 23 of the 30 biggest US states are... More »

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Bill Clinton • Clinton administration • unemployment • jobless claims • unemployment benefits • welfare • food stamps • public assistance • jobless • welfare reform

(Newser) - Hobbled by the recession, millions of Americans are struggling to navigate benefit programs that dispense aid in often arbitrary and frustrating ways, the New York Times reports. In many cases, it's all about geography. Need food stamps? It's better to live in Missouri than California. Unemployment? The lucky live in... More »

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US states • unemployment benefits • benefits • food stamps

 Layoffs Slow as Unemployment 
 Hits 8.9%, Worst Since '83 

539K positions cut; jobless rate hits 8.9%, highest since 1983

May 8, 09 8:45 AM CDT
(AP) - The pace of layoffs slowed in April when US employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in 6 months; economists had expected 620,000 job cuts. But the unemployment rate climbed to 8.9%, the highest since late 1983, as many businesses remain wary of hiring in a climate of... More »

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layoffs • unemployment • unemployment benefits • job cuts • economy

Europe's Jobless Thrive
as US Counterparts Struggle

European safety nets make joblessness easier, recovery more difficult

May 7, 09 9:42 AM CDT
(Newser) - On either side of the Atlantic, different narratives are playing out among the unemployed, the Wall Street Journal reports. While Americans left jobless by the recession struggle to pay insurance and bills, Europe’s social safety nets provide many with the majority of their former incomes and cover health-care costs.... More »

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Europe • United States • recession • unemployment • unemployment benefits • financial crisis • jobless

ANALYSIS

3 Million US Job Openings Isn't
a Good Thing

Figure shows troubling disconnect between employers, workers

May 1, 09 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Even with the unemployment rate shattering records, 3 million jobs nationwide remain unfilled. But the growing mismatch between employers and workers tarnishes that silver lining, Peter Coy argues in BusinessWeek. Untrained job-seekers often don’t have necessary skills to work in growing sectors like health care and accounting, and employers... More »

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health care • accounting • unemployment • job market • unemployment benefits • economy • job training

 Amish Finally Cotton to 
 Unemployment Checks 

Church elders ease restrictions to help workers weather recession

Apr 20, 09 9:06 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some Amish have decided unemployment benefits are one modern invention they can’t afford to shun, reports the Los Angeles Times. The shrinking supply of affordable farmland has forced a growing number of Amish men into factory work in recent years, and church elders relented on restrictions on government aid... More »

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employment • recession • Amish • unemployment benefits • Mennonites

(Newser) - The fallout from Texas Gov. Rick Perry's rejection of $555 million in stimulus funds for unemployment benefits could threaten his re-election bid—but as other politicians cave to public pressure, Perry has yet to waver, NPR reports. "Everything's going to be viewed through that prism," says the editor... More »

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Texas • Rick Perry • unemployment benefits • governor • economic stimulus package • Kay Bailey Hutchison

(Newser) - The new class of temporary workers created by European labor reform is suffering most in the current wave of job cuts, the Wall Street Journal reports, testing the new policies amid the threat of backlash. Short-term employees—easier and cheaper to fire than permanent ones—also get fewer unemployment benefits,... More »

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Europe • labor • recession • immigrant • temporary employment • job market • unemployment benefits • job • financial crisis

Unemployed Furious at Contrarian Govs

Constituents fear
losing out on stimulus dollars over politics

Feb 27, 09 2:21 PM CST
(Newser) - Opposing the stimulus’ expansion of unemployment benefits may be good PR, but there’s one constituency it’s not playing well with: unemployed people. “It just seems unreasonable,” one jobless Texan tells the New York Times, “that when people probably need the help the most, that because... More »

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Rick Perry • unemployment • jobless claims • unemployment benefits • governor • economic stimulus package • Mark Sanford • Obama administration • President Obama • Republicans

 Jobless Claims 
 Set Another Record 

626,000 claims filed last week, far more than expected

Feb 5, 09 8:19 AM CST
(AP) - New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist. The Labor Department reports that the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week to 626,000 from the previous... More »

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layoffs • recession • unemployment • job market • unemployment benefits • financial crisis • recession depression

What the Stimulus Package Would Get Us

$800 billion, $647-page tome means big gov't again

Feb 1, 09 3:23 PM CST
(Newser) - President Obama’s $800 billion stimulus plan—which stood at 647 pages when it passed the House last week—signals a return to “unabashed” big government, the Los Angeles Times reports. Here’s what it means:
  • For the next 2 years, individuals making under $75,000 will get
... More »

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energy • health insurance • unemployment • infrastructure • tax cuts • unemployment benefits • economic stimulus package • tax credit • emergency aid • Obama administration • President Obama

 Hooters Boots 
 Battered Waitress 
 Over Bruises 

Injuries violated restaurant's 'all-American cheerleader look'

Jan 6, 09 12:23 PM CST
(Newser) - An Iowa judge has awarded unemployment benefits to an assaulted Hooters waitress who says she was fired because her bruised "body wasn't up to par." Managers testified that the black eye and facial bruising Sara Dye suffered in a domestic violence dispute violated the company-mandated "glamorous appearance"... More »

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Iowa • domestic violence • Hooters • unemployment benefits • restaurant industry • waitress

Welfare Rolls Rising for First Time Since '90s

Tide of middle-class jobless could seriously strain program

Dec 17, 08 7:57 AM CST
(Newser) - Welfare numbers are rising in many states for the first time since public assistance was redefined more than a decade ago, the Washington Post reports. The numbers are still small compared to the days before welfare was retooled to steer people into jobs, but at least a dozen states say... More »

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unemployment • US economy • Federal aid • unemployment benefits • welfare • benefits

States Running Out of Cash for Jobless Benefits

Many cut taxes, weren't prepare for down turn

Dec 15, 08 8:40 AM CST
(Newser) - The ranks of the unemployed reached their highest levels since 1982 last week, and about 30 states are running out of money to fund them, the New York Times reports. Some states, including Indiana and Michigan, are already borrowing heavily from the federal government to keep up with jobless... More »

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unemployment • jobless claims • unemployment benefits • financial crisis • state budgets

 Jobless Claims 
 Hit 26-Year High 


338,000 more people claimed benefits last week

Dec 11, 08 8:41 AM CST
(Newser) - Some 58,000 jobless Americans filed their first request for unemployment benefits last week, pushing both the number of first-time filers (573,000) and number of people collecting benefits (4.43 million) to 26-year highs, MarketWatch reports. The post-Thanksgiving week is traditionally high in first-time claims, but rapid layoffs and... More »

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layoffs • unemployment • job market • unemployment benefits • job • financial crisis

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