Out of work, out of benefits, and running out of options, By Annie Lowrey, April 3, 2014, New York Times: “Abe Gorelick has decades of marketing experience, an extensive contact list, an Ivy League undergraduate degree, a master’s in business from the University of Chicago, ideas about how to reach consumers young and old, experience working with businesses from start-ups to huge financial firms and an upbeat, effervescent way about him. What he does not have — and has not had for the last year — is a full-time job. Five years since the recession ended, it is a story still shared by millions. Mr. Gorelick, 57, lost his position at a large marketing firm last March. As he searched, taking on freelance and consulting work, his family’s finances slowly frayed. He is now working three jobs, driving a cab and picking up shifts at Lord & Taylor and Whole Foods…”
For jobless LIers, desperation becomes way of life, By Carol Polsky, March 30, 2014, Newsday: “Growing numbers of jobless Long Islanders are struggling to survive with little to no income since extended federal unemployment benefits ended in December. Despite improving local unemployment rates and job growth, thousands of long-term unemployed are still unable to find work, and now many say they are running out of money to meet even basic expenses. A bipartisan compromise was reached recently in the U.S. Senate to provide extended benefits through May, retroactive to December, but it faces an uncertain fate in the House…”
Oregon food stamps, welfare numbers rose after long-term unemployment aid ended, By Yuxing Zheng, April 1, 2014, The Oregonian: “The number of Oregonians relying on welfare and food stamps rose slightly in January after long-term unemployment benefits ended in December. The increases illustrate the almost immediate impact local families felt after the federal unemployment benefits ran out, pushing families already living on the margins into welfare. Although not substantial, the January increases were some of the most sizable since Oregon began to see a slow and steady decline in the number of food stamps and welfare recipients…”
Long-term unemployed watch coming debate over benefits closely, By John Fritze, March 22, 2014, Baltimore Sun: “The first thing Eric Miles lost was his Jeep. Then it was the apartment that he and his 12-year-old son called home. Since the federal government cut off jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed late last year, the 54-year-old East Baltimore man has moved in with his sister, relied on family to pay the phone bill and borrowed bus fare to go out and look for work. ‘You’re talking about $3.50 for an all-day bus pass,’ Miles said. ‘If you don’t have the $3.50 coming in, you don’t have it.’ Nearly three months after Congress allowed the benefits to lapse, tens of thousands of out-of-work Marylanders are hoping that a bipartisan deal to extend the program through May will win approval. But the plan could be doomed by opposition from some conservatives, who say the benefits create a disincentive for seeking a job, as well as a national group representing state unemployment officials…”
Senate to take yet another crack at passing jobless aid extension, By Karoun Demirjian, March 23, 2014, Las Vegas Sun: “Jeff Frischmann will wait and see if the newest version of legislation to extend emergency unemployment benefits passes the Senate this week. He knows that if it does, and ultimately becomes law, it will mean working out the bugs at his job. Frischmann, chief of unemployment insurance operations at Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, is confident, though, as he anticipates the flood of people returning to the system to file claims…”
Senate likely to tackle extended benefits this week, By Jack Katzanek, March 24, 2014, Press-Enterprise: “A measure to extend unemployment benefits for an estimated 2 million people, including probably more than 40,000 in Inland Southern California, is likely to be discussed on the floor of the U.S. Senate at some point this week, sources in Washington, D.C. said. A coalition of Republican and Democrat senators worked out a compromise measure on March 13 that would extend the unemployment benefits, which last for 26 weeks in California, for an additional five months. Congress was not in session last week, but the measure is on this week’s list of priorities…”
Only 11% of the long-term unemployed find work again a year later, By Ricardo Lopez, March 20, 2014, Los Angeles Times: “In a sobering new study, three Princeton economists found that only 11% of the long-term unemployed in any given month found full-time work a year later. The paper, presented Thursday at a Brookings Panel on Economic Activity, offered a comprehensive look at the profile of the long-term unemployed. The lead economist behind the study is Alan B. Krueger, the former chairman of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors. The economists tested the hypothesis of whether a low supply of jobs or discrimination by employers contributed to long-term unemployment. The answer? Probably both…”
Jobs scarce for U.S. long-term unemployed, By Josh Boak (AP), March 21, 2014, The Tennessean: “A new study documents the bleak plight of Americans who have been unemployed for more than six months: Just 11 percent of them, on average, will ever regain steady full-time work. The findings by three Princeton University economists show the extent to which the long-term unemployed have been shunted to the sidelines of the U.S. economy since the Great Recession. The long-term jobless number 3.8 million, or 37 percent of all unemployed Americans…”
States have provided jobless benefits retroactively before — so why can’t they now?, By Stephen Koff, March 20, 2014, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “The folks who administer unemployment compensation say that the start-stop-start nature of the latest jobless-benefits proposal in Washington would be unworkable in the states. That’s because, they say, it is the states, not the federal government, that must administer the benefits and deal with all the hassles, regardless of whether the benefits are paid for by the feds…”
