Extended Benefits For Long Term Unemployed To End

By aaroncynic in News on May 3, 2012 4:40PM

Benefits for long term unemployed residents of Illinois will disappear at the end of next week according to the Illinois Department of Employment Security. Due to “falling unemployment rates and steady economic growth,” those collecting benefits for more than 79 weeks will lose them. The loss of the last 20 weeks of benefits for unemployed individuals was triggered by the jobless rate falling to 8.8 percent in March. According to the Tribune, the last time Illinois saw a rate of unemployment this low was in February 2009, when it dipped to 8.5 percent. The highest rate the state has seen was 11.4 percent in January 2010.

In order for extended benefits to remain active, the a state’s unemployment rate for a three-month average must be 10 percent or more higher than a corresponding three month average over the past three years. In a press release, IDES Director Jay Rowell said that those still unemployed or underemployed should visit IllinoisJobLink.com, “where they will find more than 90,000 job openings." No other benefits for those unemployed beyond 79 weeks exist.