Benefits Cutbacks

According to recent reports from the National Employment Law Project (NELP) unemployed Americans can expect significant cuts in unemployment benefits this year. Not only have federally funded extended benefits been eliminated as a result of the new debt ceiling legislation, there have also been cuts in the maximum number of weeks of unemployment provided by state unemployment insurance and even more cuts to the weekly benefit amounts. The data also shows that six states have cut the maximum number of weeks that jobless workers can receive Unemployment.compensation to below 26 weeks, a number that had been the standard for every state in the nation for the last 50 years. Michigan, Missouri, and South Carolina all cut unemployment benefits to just 20 weeks, and Arkansas and Illinois reduced their benefit terms to 25 weeks. Florida is using a sliding scale and dropped benefits to between 12 and 23 weeks, depending on that state's unemployment rate at the time claims are filed. Other states have made cuts to weekly unemployment benefit amounts or they have increased the eligibility requirements in order to reduce unemployment expenses. Some of those changes include Indiana’s move to change the formula used to calculate weekly benefit amounts so that the average unemployment check in that state will drop from $283 to $220 a week. In Florida, claimants are required to take a 45-question online skills-assessment test before they can receive their first payment, and after that they must prove they have contacted five potential employers during each week they are claiming benefits. The current federal extended unemployment benefits program of up to 99 weeks of benefits in states with high unemployment will continue through 2011 for existing claims. However, any workers who become unemployed in July of 2011 or after that will not be eligible for any extended benefits until new legislation is passed at the federal level, an unlikely scenario in the current climate of spending cutbacks nationwide. The dates will vary as to when the changes will go into effect in each state and if you have run out of unemployment benefits or are about to lose your job, you should check with your state’s unemployment office for details on who qualifies and when and how benefits will be paid in the future.