State Systems and Jobless Benefits

Posted on July 24, 2009 by admin

• Jobless checks for millions delayed as states struggle, By Jason DeParle, July 23, 2009, New York Times: “Years of state and federal neglect have hobbled the nation’s unemployment system just as a brutal recession has doubled the number of jobless Americans seeking aid.  In a program that values timeliness above all else, decisions involving more than a million applicants have been slowed, and hundreds of thousands of needy people have waited months for checks…”
• Claims drop as jobless exhaust state benefits, By Kelly Evans, July 24, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “The number of workers on jobless rolls is declining in an encouraging sign for the U.S. economy, although the decrease partly reflects people exhausting their state benefits. The Labor Department said Thursday that about 6.2 million workers received weekly unemployment benefits, known as ‘continuing claims,’ from their state in the week ended July 11, down from a peak of nearly 6.5 million in late March. The number of new weekly claims also is down from its spring highs…”