- States cutting weeks of aid to the jobless, By Annie Lowrey, January 21, 2014, New York Times: “After losing her job as a security guard in June, Alnetta McKnight turned to food stamps and unemployment insurance to support herself and her 14-year-old son. But her jobless payments ran out after 20 weeks, and now they are living on close to nothing…”
- 6 months after unemployment aid cutoff, job-seekers report tough market, By Eric Frazier, January 21, 2014, The State: “Six months after North Carolina’s much-debated decision to cut off federal long-term unemployment benefits for nearly 70,000 people, some of the jobless have taken on lower-paying part-time posts; others have given up looking. One thing they all seem to agree on: The job market, despite declining unemployment rates, remains brutally competitive, with far more applicants than good job openings. It’s even more difficult, they say, for job seekers over 50…”
- EDD answers only 10% to 17% of calls from jobless, records show, By Marc Lifsher, January 20, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “Four months after a botched computer upgrade delayed unemployment benefits for tens of thousands of Californians, jobless workers are still finding it nearly impossible to reach state employees for help. On any given day in recent months, as many as 90% of callers to the Employment Development Department seeking information about missed payments or unprocessed claims failed to reach a live worker, according to agency phone records obtained by The Times…”
- Life without benefits gets tougher for jobless, By Jennifer Liberto, January 20, 2014, CNNMoney: “Some of the 1.3 million jobless Americans entering their fourth week without federal benefits are facing tough choices. Jean Winsor borrowed money from a friend to pay car insurance this month, so she can drive to interviews. She can’t pay her Shinglehouse, Pa., mortgage. Marcus Wesley is a few months from finishing a course in his Houston suburb to transition into medical information technology, a field that’s hiring. ‘If I had to, I would have to live in my car,’ said Wesley, who has rent coming due. Kerstin Foster got a job that starts in February, but she can’t pay the grocery bills now. She spent most of two days last week in a long line — with dozens of other jobless workers who lost benefits — waiting to sign up for food stamps in Waterbury, Conn…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty