Title: Strong Jobs Report Could Mean Bad News For Unemployment Benefits | HuffPost
Headings: Strong Jobs Report Could Mean Bad News For Unemployment Benefits
Strong Jobs Report Could Mean Bad News For Unemployment Benefits
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“Since the unemployment insurance system was created, Congress has never cut back on federally funded extended benefits when unemployment was over 7.2 percent,” Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said in 2011. “Since 1959, the government has never allowed these benefits to expire when the national unemployment rate is above 7.2 percent,” Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.) said in 2010. Indeed, Congress has provided extra weeks of federal unemployment compensation for people who use up the standard six months of state benefits in response to every recession for the past 50 years. The maximum combined state and federal benefits in states with high unemployment rates is currently 73 weeks. But what goes up, must come down — it’s always been a matter of when. The stakes are high: Between Christmas and the new year, 1.3 million long-term jobless will lose their federal benefits if Congress fails to reauthorize the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. The Congressional Budget Office has estimated it would cost $26 billion to continue the benefits through next year.