| WASHINGTON
- May 2 - As the Labor Department
announced that unemployment rose to 6.0 percent in April, millions
of unemployed Americans are bracing for the end of federal
emergency jobless benefits for the second time in five months. In
January, Congress re-authorized a program that offers 13 weeks of
federal benefits. After May 31, no new workers will qualify for the
added benefits.
As the deadline looms large, more than 1.9 million workers (or
21.8 percent of all unemployed-the highest figure in a decade) were
officially counted as unemployed and still looking for work after
six months in April. And today's data reveal that jobless workers
have been looking for work an average of 19.6 weeks, the longest
duration in 19 years (January 1984). There are 580,000 more
long-term unemployed Americans than when Congress passed the
extension program in 2002. Since then, the federal program has
helped more than 4.6 million get by in the persistently beleaguered
labor market.
Over 2.8 million workers have completely run out of federal
jobless benefits. During the last recession when President
George H.W. Bush was in office, the federal program provided 26
weeks of federal extended benefits at its peak, with workers in
many states receiving 33 weeks. With long-term unemployment now
just as severe as it was during the last recession (and still
growing), the 13 weeks of benefits available today are just not
enough for most families. The time has come for Congress and the
President to expand the current program to provide no less in aid
than what was available during the previous recession.
"For the last two years, stubbornly high long term unemployment
has been the most consistent feature of the sputtering economy.
Workers continue to bear the brunt of the prolonged slowdown, as
the clock runs out on their unemployment benefits," said Maurice
Emsellem, Director of Public Policy at the National Employment Law
Project. "At the same time, President Bush and Congressional
leaders are talking non-stop about tax cuts, while remaining
entirely silent when it comes to protecting and strengthening the
federal extension of unemployment benefits."
To make matters worse, this week's round of labor reports
revealed that the economy lost 48,000 more jobs in April, bringing
the total private sector job loss over the last two years to 3.2
million. "America's workers deserve better," said Emsellem. "They
need jobs as soon as they can get them, but they need unemployment
benefits now."
The National Employment Law Project has launched a new
initiative calling attention to plight of the long-term jobless.
The "Laid Off & Left Out" initiative has just launched its official
Web site: http://www.unemployedworkers.org. In the coming days,
NELP will also announce the results of a groundbreaking national
survey of unemployed workers. For more information, please contact
Jason Dring at 202-518-8047 or Jason@publicinterestpr.com.
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