4 out of 5 unemployed Mainers not getting benefits
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree called again today on Congressional leaders to hold a vote on extending unemployment benefits, citing new statistics that show a record number of unemployed people in Maine and around the country are now going without benefits. According to a new report, after emergency unemployment benefits expired on December 28, only 21% of unemployedMainers are left getting benefits. That figure ties with New Hampshire for the lowest in the Northeast and is below the national average of 25%.
"The sad truth is that the economy hasn't yet improved to the point where it's possible for everyone who wants a job to get one, and these numbers show how many people in Maine are still struggling to find work. Letting those emergency benefits expire was just plain wrong and Congress should act quickly to extend them," Pingree said.
The national average of 25% marks the lowest percentage of unemployed workers getting benefits since records began in 1946.
"Having those unemployment benefits expire isn't just a terrible blow to families struggling to make ends meet, it's a blow to our economy too. Unemployment checks get spent immediately at local businesses, on gas and groceries and heating oil," Pingree said.
In an editorial today, USA Today called on Congress to extend emergency unemployment benefits, calling them an "effective way to help nurse the economy back to health."
Pingree is cosponsoring a bill that would restore emergency unemployment benefits for another year.
The Senate is expected to hold a vote on extending benefits today.
States typically provide 26 weeks of state-funded unemploymentinsurance. The federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program that expired December 28th provided as many as 47 additional weeks of federally-funded unemployment insurance, for a maximum state and federal total of 73 weeks.
