Alabama gets 13 more weeks of unemployment insurance benefits.

Alabama extends unemployment benefits

Birmingham Business Journal - by Crystal Jarvis Staff

Alabama’s unemployed workers will now be eligible for an additional 13 weeks of compensation benefits, according to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations.

The surge in the unemployment rate here – due to massive layoffs at companies grappling with the ailing economy – allows the state to extend its unemployment payments to its affected work force, the department said.

To qualify, a state’s three-month average unemployment rate must be at least 6 percent. Alabama’s average is currently 6.1.

The state’s overall unemployment rate jumped to 6.7 percent, a dramatic increase from November’s revised 6 percent. The state’s jobless rate is still lower than the national rate of 7.2 percent, but has steadily increased in recent months from 5.6 percent in October and 3.6 percent a year ago.

So far, Alabama has qualified for two extensions. In all, 33 weeks of benefits have been added to the existing 26 weeks of benefits unemployed workers normally receive.

“Hopefully, this extension will help to alleviate some of the financial burden for those who remain unemployed,” said Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director Tom Surtees. “During such faltering economic times, many workers may feel there is nowhere to turn. Alabama’s Career Centers stand ready to help those workers meet these challenges.”

As of late, about 12,000 Alabamians are likely eligible for the additional benefits. The extension will go into effect on Feb. 15.

For more information visit the agency’s Web site at www.dir.alabama.gov

Leaving Las Vegas

Nevada unemployment deepens

The Associated Press

Posted: 01/29/2009 05:09:33 PM PST

CARSON CITY, Nev.—Nevada's unemployment rate, 9.1 percent in December—the highest level since 1983—could top 11 percent in 2010, according to a report released by the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

"I've heard other testimonies speaking of the perfect storm," DETR chief Larry Mosley told state lawmakers on Wednesday. "Well, we're in the midst of one."

To compound matters, the state trust fund used to pay unemployment insurance claims may be depleted by the end of this year, legislators were told. The trust fund is ranked 19th strongest in the nation.

"The current economic crisis is one that is unprecedented in nature, and has defied all projections," said Cindy Jones, administrator of the state Employment Security Division. "Nevada finds itself among the numerous states that may have to borrow from the federal government in order to make benefit payments."

Renee Olsen, chief financial officer for DETR, said that for the past three years, the agency has had to return federal funds due to the lack of state matching funds.

Olsen said that nearly two-thirds of the department's budget comes from federal sources, and 11 percent of that income is dependent on state matching funds.

"Federal funding continues to increase, while our ability to match these funds is eroded," Olsen said. "We will be working hard to maximize and identify every matching dollar that we can."

Mosley said 128,100 Nevadans are out of work, and about 78,000 people are getting an average of $300 a week in jobless benefits.

Mass Layoffs at the highest level since 2001

From the bls.gov

In 2008, the total number of mass layoff events, at 21,137, reached its highest annual level since 2001.

[Chart data—TXT]

The total number of initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits due to mass layoffs, at 2,130,220, reached its highest annual level since 2002.

Manufacturing accounted for 33 percent of all mass layoff events and 41 percent of initial claims filed during 2008. The number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing, 323,676, followed by food manufacturing, 72,081, and wood product manufacturing, 56,374.

The Midwest reported the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoffs during 2008 (676,591). Layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 30 percent of the claims in the Midwest.

These data are from the Mass Layoff Statistics program. See "Mass Layoffs in December 2008 and Annual Totals for 2008," (PDF) (HTML) news release USDL 09-0094, for more information. Each mass layoff event involves at least 50 persons from a single establishment.

Weekly Jobless Claims Report offers more bad news

US new jobless claims up,continued claims a record

Thu Jan 29, 2009 8:35am EST

WASHINGTON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose 3,000 last week, data on Thursday showed, while so-called continued claims hit the highest level on record as a year-long recession chilled employment.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits increased to a seasonally adjusted 588,000 in the week ended Jan 24 from a revised 585,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 580,000 new claims versus a previously reported count of 589,000 the week before.

(Reporting by Alister Bull, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

Pennsylvania gets extended unemployment insurance benefits

According to the Pittsburgh Business Times

Additional federal unemployment funds available in Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh Business Times

Pennsylvania’s insured unemployment rate climbed past 4 percent this month, which will make 13 additional weeks of federally funded emergency unemployment compensation available to those who exhaust benefits, Gov. Ed Rendell announced.

The insured unemployment rate counts only the unemployed who file for benefits. The state’s most recent total unemployment rate reading was 6.7 percent for December.

The additional weeks of emergency compensation will help more than 50,000 people who have exhausted benefits or are about to, the state Department of Labor and Industry reported.

Unemployed workers who exhausted the state’s 26 weeks of benefits were previously eligible for up to 20 additional weeks of federally funded emergency unemployment compensation, but will now be eligible for up to 33 additional weeks of federal benefits. The change was triggered when Pennsylvania’s insured unemployment rate increased to 4.14 percent Jan. 16, passing the threshold required for states to be eligible for the additional 13 weeks of federal benefits, Department of Labor and Industry spokesman David Smith said.

“It’s a key lifeline because now you are talking about winter heating bills too,” Smith said of the potential loss of benefits to 50,000 unemployed state residents. “That’s why these additional 13 weeks are vital to people.

Congress approved 13 additional weeks of federally funded emergency benefits over the summer and another 7 weeks in November, which saved more than 54,000 in Pennsylvania from losing benefits, Smith said. Since July, Pennsylvania has distributed more than $639 million in federal emergency unemployment compensation.

Pennsylvania's nonfarm job count dropped by 27,100 jobs in December and its unemployment rate climbed to 6.7 percent.

Florida Tier 2 Unemployment Insurance

For those Floridians that need to know the details of the state's extended unemployment compensation plan you should check out this information

Essentially:

To be eligible for the additional EUC benefits, the claimant must:

• Have filed a claim on or after May 2, 2006
• Have exhausted all rights to regular UC under state or federal law.
• Have no rights to regular or extended UC in any other state.
• Not eligible for benefits in Canada.

and

Calculation of EUC Benefits for the Additional Extension

• Weekly Benefit Amount of the EUC claim will be the same amount received on the regular claim that the extension is based on.

• The total EUC Available Credits will be the lesser of:

• 80 % of the Available Credits on the regular UC claim up to a maximum of 20 weeks.OR
• 20 times the individuals weekly benefit amount

Dilbert

Unemployment rate by state--December 2008

Click on Image for Larger View

The unemployment rate by state continued to get worse in December, 2008. In fact every state experienced an increase in the unemployment rate from November 2008 to December 2008. Looking at the map above you can see things are worse in the gray states--10%+ Unemployment (Michigan & Rhode Island). And things are pretty bad in the purple states as well--7 - 9.9% unemployment rate--(Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maine.)

Rhode Island has 10% unemployment

Rhode Island has the dubious distinction of having the nation's 2nd worst unemployment rate. (Just behind Michigan)

Rhode Island's 10% unemployment rate is also the state's highest rate of unemployment since records have been kept according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Peter Schiff was correct

If you ever watch the talking heads on TV and wonder if they are ever correct, you should check out this youtube clip (10 minutes long). Peter Schiff was predicting the market & real estate down-turn throughout 2007 and 2008---While other Talking heads (Including Ben Stein) were pushing Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Bear, and WaMu.

Colorado's unemployment insurance line serves up busy signals

According to KKTV the state of Colorado is receiving around 5,000 calls per day, but can only answer 2,000 calls per day. Consequently, plenty of people are dialing for days & even weeks.

If you're having no luck getting through to the staff at the Colorado Unemployment Insurance office, try using www.coworkforce.com.

California's Unemployment Insurance fund has run out of money

According to SFGate.com the state of California's Unemployment Insurance fund went insolvent on Monday.

Don't worry, the state will be borrowing ~$2.4 Billion from the federal government for the rest of year. Odds are that the state won't be increasing the Unemployment Tax enough to counter this deficit, and will likely be borrowing more money in 2010, and having to pay over $150million per year in interest payments to the feds.

Read all of my California related links here.

Indiana hires 100 to handle unemployment claims

According to Forbes.com the state of Indiana has had to hire 100 new employees to deal with glitches that have caused a delay for 42,000 recipients of the states unemployment insurance benefits. That's nearly 20% of the 200,000 hoosiers that collect benefits.

15 States see 15%++ surge in food stamp demand

Earlier I blogged about the increase in food stamp usage in California, well things aren't that much better in the rest of the United States.

According to the USDA there are 15 states that experienced a 15%++ uptick in the number of households that receive food stamps (comparing October 2008 to October 2007).


Click on Chart for Larger Image

Some of the states with the highest populations (and highest unemployment rates) also saw big increases in the number of people on food stamps. Notably, Texas (up 30%), Florida(up 26%), California (up 16%) and New York (up 16%).

You should expect that when new data is released showing December 2008 vs. December 2007, there will be even more states on this list.

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Caterpillar to layoff 20,000 | Sprint to layoff 8,000

Caterpillar will be laying off ~20,000 employees according to a press release issued today. The Illinois based company is predicting that 2009 will be the toughest year since the end of WWII.



Sprint-Nextel today announced that they will be laying off 8,000 workers. The Missouri based company hopes to save over $1 billion in costs.

Bankers fear 10% unemployment rate...

From the WSJ

By PETER EAVIS

Despite all the pain in the financial sector, bank executives' biggest fear has yet to materialize. Now, it is rearing its ugly head.

Bankers' worst nightmare is the unemployment rate climbing toward 10%, a level at which credit losses could balloon unpredictably because of high defaults among people with previously strong credit histories.

Right now, bank balance sheets don't appear in a position to deal with unemployment moving sharply higher from its current 7.2% rate.

Building up bad-loan reserves to deal with a 9% to 10% rate could produce enormous losses and pulverize capital when banks are trying to preserve the thin cushions they have. And fear of rising unemployment could deter lending when the government wants banks to expand credit. True, the Obama administration's stimulus plan could reduce unemployment expectations. But right now, banks are hoisting their joblessness forecasts.

Last week, consumer lender Capital One Financial increased its unemployment forecast to 8.7% by the end of 2009, from its previous expectation of 7% by midyear. And Capital One added that it is building more-severe unemployment scenarios into lending decisions.

Also last week, Kelly King, chief executive of regional bank BB&T, said unemployment of 8% to 8.5% is "kind of manageable," but 9% to 10% would "have a dramatic impact on our scenarios."

read the rest of the story here.

Wisconsin's unemployment rate is the highest since 1986

According to MSNBC, the 5.8% unemployment rate for Wisconsin in December, 2008 is the highest rate the badger state has seen in over 20 years (since 1986).

As I understand it, since Wisconsin has not (yet) had an average unemployment rate of at least 6% for 3 months, the Wisconites are not yet eligible for the Tier 2 unemployment insurance benefits.

What happens when the unemployment checks stop?

Given that the unemployment rate keeps going up each and every month, and many people in many states are exhausting all of their unemployment insurance compensation (or may not be eligible for such insurance), I decided to look at how this is impacting the demand for other social services.

Specifically for food stamps in California.

According to the California Department of Social Services the amount of California's receiving food stamps has surged in 2008. It has gone from ~870,000 households last year to over 1 million households as of October 2008.

Now there's roughly 300 million people in America and ~100 million households---as a rule of thumb, California has about 10% of America's population---so that means roughly 10% of California's households are now on food stamps---and the number is rising.


Click for a bigger picture.

Could all this lead to a Great Depression Ahead: & How can you Prosper in the Crash Following the Greatest Boom in History

Keeping Health Insurance while you're unemployed

According to the NY Times , the Obama administration is investigating ways at easing the burden of health insurance for many americans---including those people who have been laid off and are struggling to meet COBRA payments with their unemployment insurance benefit check.

"The plan would help 8.5 million Americans keep health care coverage by providing workers who lose insurance tax credits to pay for Cobra programs and by expanding Medicaid coverage for low-income Americans who lack access to Cobra. The Medicaid formula would be adjusted to protect 20 million Americans whose coverage might be in jeopardy because of state budget shortfalls."

States hit hard by unemployment insurance costs

This 2 minute CBS News video does a good job of covering what is going on in New York, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina and Indiana as their State unemployment insurance funds get depleted and run out of cash.

Texas' unemployment rate shoots to 6% in December 2008

The unemployment rate in the the Lone Star State has reached 6% in December 2008 according to the AP.

While Texas' unemployment rate is still below the national average of 7.2% (for December 2008), they have now hit the 6% mark which makes Tier 2 unemployment insurance benefits a possibility for future months.

The Maximum weekly unemployed insurance benefit in Texas is ~$378/week.

California's unemployment rate tops 9%

According to business week conditions in California continue to worsen with the unemployment rate reaching 9.3% in December 2008. This is up from 5.9% in December 2007...

This is the worst level of unemployment since 1994, and there are 1.7 million Californians looking for jobs. This will continue to stress California's Unemployment Insurance program and could lead to even more mortgage defaults.

Florida's unemployment rate tops 8%

According to the South Florida Business Journal Florida's unemployment rate climbed to 8.1% in December 2008. This is above the national unemployment rate of 7.2% and is the worst Florida has seen since 1992. As the state's housing and real estate markets continue to decline, the construction sector lead the way in job-losses.

To make matters worse for Floridians, the maximum unemployment insurance payout that eligible unemployed Floridians receive is $275/week.

New York State could get Tier 2 Unemployment Insurance Benefits soon.

From the New York Times

State Jobless Rate Soars; Benefits Extension Seen

Article Tools Sponsored By
By PATRICK McGEEHAN
Published: January 22, 2009

Unemployment in New York State rose last month at the fastest pace on record, as some companies laid off workers at a rapid clip while others refrained from their usual hiring around the holidays, the State Labor Department reported on Thursday.

The state’s jobless rate, which is adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, was 7 percent in December, up from 6 percent in November, according to the report. That increase — the largest in any month in 32 years of state record-keeping — will set off another extension of benefits for many New Yorkers who have been looking for work for more than half a year, labor market experts said.

New York City’s unemployment rate, after seasonal adjustments, rose even more, jumping to 7.4 percent from 6.3 percent, the Labor Department said. The city’s count of private jobs declined by 8,500 in December, compared with a normal increase of almost 20,000 jobs in that month.

...

The national unemployment rate, which, at 6.8 percent in November, was considerably higher than the state and city rates, rose to 7.2 percent in December.

...

Across the state, more than 670,000 people were reported as unemployed in December, a record one-month increase of 89,800 from November. More than 500,000 New Yorkers are currently collecting unemployment benefits and about half of them have already exhausted the standard allotment of 26 weekly checks.

Those who failed to find work before their standard benefits ran out have been able to collect up to 20 weeks of additional benefits. Now that the state’s unemployment rate has averaged more than 6 percent for the last three months, an additional extension of 13 weeks of benefits will become available on Feb. 22, according to Andrew Stettner, deputy director of the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group for the unemployed.

That extension will help thousands of New Yorkers who have already used up 40 weeks of benefits, but it will also put additional strain on the state’s insolvent unemployment insurance fund. The state has been borrowing about $90 million each week this year from a federal fund to cover the shortfall in the unemployment fund.

State officials project that the fund’s deficit will grow to more than $2.5 billion by the end of 2010 unless changes are made to the relatively low payroll tax system that feeds the fund. On Thursday, labor unions and advocates for low-wage workers called for legislation to overhaul the system and increase unemployment benefits. New York’s maximum weekly unemployment benefit of $405 is lower than those of all of its neighboring states.

New York's unemployment rate is at 7%

According to Newsday the state of New York's unemployment rate was at 7.0% for December 2008, up 2.4 percentage points from December 2007 (See chart).

According to the report, New York City's unemployment rate was 7.2% in December and Hamilton County had the highest rate of unemployment at 10%.

If you're unemployed in New York City, you may want to consider reading: The Cheap Bastard's Guide to New York City, 4th: A Native New Yorker's Secrets of Living the Good Life--for Free!

Massachusetts' unemployment rate jumps to almost 7%

According to boston.com Massachusetts' unemployment rate for December 2008 jumped one full percentage point in December, 2008.

It is now 6.9%, compared to 5.9% in November, 2008.

Initial Jobless Claims at the highest point in decades

According to bloomberg the initial jobless claims figure released this morning is the worst since 1982.

And 44 of the 50 states showed increases in jobless claims vs. last year.

Microsoft to Lay-off 5,000

According to Microsoft's earnings release issued this morning, "Microsoft will eliminate up to 5,000 jobs in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months, including 1,400 jobs today."

This will undoubtedly hurt Washington's unemployment rate for 2009.

Weekly Jobless Claims continue to rise

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time applications for state unemployment benefits rose 62,000 to a seasonally adjusted 589,000 in the week ending Jan. 17, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The level of initial claims is up 82% from the same period a year ago. The last time the level was higher was in November 1982. The four-week average of new claims was unchanged at 519,250.

Meanwhile, the number of people collecting benefits in the week ending Jan. 10 rose 97,000 to 4.61 million, a level that is 72% higher than in the prior year. The four-week average of continuing claims rose 58,750 to 4.56 million -- the highest level since November 1982.

The insured unemployment rate remained at 3.4%.

Read the rest of the story here.

Michigan's unemployment rate tops 10%

According to the Detroit Free Press, the state of Michigan is experiencing double-digit unemployment for the first time since 1985. Michigan also has the dubious distinction of having the nations highest rate of unemployment, and being one of a handful states actually borrowing from the federal government to make unemployment insurance payments.

This will undoubtedly further stress the state's unemployment insurance fund.


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Read all of my Michigan related posts here.

New Jersey's unemployment rate tops 7%

Click on image for a larger view.

According to philly.com the unemployment rate for New Jersey was 7% in December 2008. That's the highest level in over 15 years and up a 1 full percentage point in 1 month.

Additionally, New Jersey's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund has just $400 million in it--or about 10 weeks worth of money. So by the end of April, 2009 the New Jersey unemployment fund could run dry and the state would have to borrow money from the Feds.

Washington State's December 2008 unemployment rate is at 7.1%

Click on Image for Larger View

From the Seattle Times

Wash unemployment rate jumps to 7.1 percent in Dec

Washington's unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 percent last month, the largest one month increase in more than three decades.

By RACHEL LA CORTE

Associated Press Writer

OLYMPIA, Wash. —

Washington's unemployment rate jumped to 7.1 percent last month, the largest one month increase in more than three decades.

The jump of more than half a percentage point from 6.4 percent in November was the biggest increase reported since 1976, the state Employment Security Department said Wednesday.

The highest unemployment rate on record in Washington was in November 1982, at 12.2 percent. The lowest was 4.4 percent reported in March and April of 2007.

Washington state's unemployment rate has nearly caught up to the national rate of 7.2 percent.

Last year at this time, the state's unemployment rate was 4.6 percent. Washington had 54,600 fewer jobs last month than a year ago, a 1.8 percent decrease. Nationally, employment declined by 1.9 percent over the past year.

"In barely a year, we've gone from historically low unemployment to record numbers of people applying for unemployment benefits," Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee said in a prepared statement.

She noted that a record-setting 90,331 new unemployment applications were filed in December.

Lee said the department has doubled the number of staff answering phones at its call centers and has increased the capacity of its phone system to deal with the increase in unemployment insurance applications.

Economists say nearly 252,000 people are unemployed and looking for work.

How does Tier 2 Unemployment Insurance work?

Needless to say, there are different unemployment insurance plans in each and every state. Some states qualify for extended unemployment compensation (EUC) and others don't.

All States: Workers who used all of the 13 weeks of unemployment benefits before the passage of the November 2008 legistlation are eligable for an existing 7 weeks of extended benefits (20 weeks Total)--These 7 weeks are called "additional first tier benefits"

High Unemployment States---Those who are unemployed in states with more than a 6% unemployment rate ( for at least 3 months), are able to receive an additional 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. (33 weeks total)---This is the Tier 2 (or Tier II) benefits

You can read more about Tier 1 and Tier 2 Unemployment Insurance benefits here.

Michigan is starting to improve its busy unemployment insurance telephone lines

According to Crains Detroit the State of Michigan is taking steps to improve their unemployment insurance call centers' capacity. They are hiring 90 new temps to work the phones with the new staff starting in February 2009, and they have also started mandatory overtime at the call centers, suspended flexible work schedules and are adding more lines to the Michigan Automated Response Voice Interactive Network system.

The agency has been encouraging workers to file their claims online on the agency’s Web site, www.michigan.gov/uia.


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Read all of my Michigan related posts here.

Which States are eligable for Tier 2 Unemployment Benefits

According to this site as of 12/28/2008, there are 22 states that are eligible for extended unemployment insurance benefits and a handful of others that are about to have UIC benefits begin. The Tier 2 benefits come when there has been an unemployment rate of over 6% for 3 months.

Specifically, the states which currently have Tier 2 unemployment insurance benefits are:

• Alaska
• California
• Connecticut
• District of Columbia
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Nevada
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Oregon
• Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Washington

Additionally, Arizona, New Jersey and the US Virgin Islands will have Tier 2 benefits beginning in 2009

A sign of the times

Hyundai, the auto company that started marketing a 10-year warranty when it started its big push into the US years ago, has found a way to market its cars in today's uncertain economic times.

Their new program, Hyundai Assurance offers to let you walk away from your loan or lease within 1 year of purchase without having to worry about (up to $7,500) in negative equity if you have any one of the following happen to you:

1. involuntary unemployement
2. Physical Disability
3. Loss of Drivers License due to medical impairment
4. International Employment Transfer
5. Self-Employed personal bankruptcy
6. Accidental Death

It will be interesting to see if this program helps Hyundai with it's January sales figures which will be released in early February.

California paying more than $1 Billion in Unemployment Insurance assistance each month

From the LA Times

Last month, California issued $1.1 billion in assistance checks to 429,000 claimants. Unemployed workers are eligible for payments of as much as $450 a week for up to 59 weeks.

California's unemployment insurance fund, which is funded by payroll taxes paid by employers, is expected to run short of cash within two weeks. The state is paying out $30 million to $34 million a day in benefits. During the week of Jan. 5, its balance fell from about $500 million to $270 million.

Jobless benefits will not stop, but the state must seek a federal loan to keep the system afloat. Five other states have already obtained such short-term loans, which must be paid back with interest.

You can read all of my California related posts here...

Tough times in California's Inland Empire

From Bloomberg

Jan. 19 (Bloomberg) -- An hour’s drive through California’s Riverside County takes in neighborhoods of deserted homes, boarded-up businesses, busy unemployment offices -- and crews working on millions of dollars in new public projects.

Only four years ago, Riverside and nearby San Bernardino, often called the Inland Empire, were California’s economic powerhouse, accounting for more than a fifth of the state’s new jobs. Today, unemployment reigns in the sprawling region east of Los Angeles. The 9.5 percent jobless rate in the two counties matches Detroit’s as the highest of any major metropolitan area in the U.S.

Riverside also has almost $1 billion worth of public-works projects underway or planned, from widening roads to building a new jail. The county illustrates both the promise and the limitations of the spending President-elect Barack Obama proposes to pull the U.S. economy out of a recession that may become the longest since the Great Depression.

Read the rest of the story here...

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You can read all of my California related posts here...

Duke University Professor sees higher unemployment ahead

This NBC news clip features Cam Harvey (Finance Professor at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business) commenting on how the unemployment situation could be getting worse, and that North Carolina's unemployment rate of 7.9% could be heading higher as well.

http://raleigh.mync.com/site/raleigh/news/story/24763/duke-professor-pessimistic-about-unemployment-predictions

Michigan's Extedned Unemployment Insurance Benefits (Tier II / Tier 2)

If you're one of the many people unemployed in the state of Michigan, you may be eligible for extended unemployment insurance benefits.

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program includes up to 20 weeks of federally-funded extended unemployment benefits in all states, and because of Michigan's high unemployment rate, a second tier of EUC, providing up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits, are payable in the state. Thus, Michigan's unemployed workers may receive up to 33 weeks of federally-funded EUC assistance.

You can read more of my posts about Michigan here.

Or you can read more about Michigan's Tier 2 extended unemployment insurance benefit here.

Indiana's Unemployment Insurance Fund is insolvent

The reporters at nwi.com report that back in November 2008, the state of Indiana's unemployment insurance fund was depleted and was forced to borrow from the feds (at an interest rate of 4.6%), and they have now borrowed $216 million---and need more and more every month.

And since (1) the the unemployment rate in Indiana is at 7.1% as of November 2008 (up from 4.5% in November 2007). (2) Politicians have decreased the unemployment tax rate on businesses and (3) The maximum unemployment insurance benefit payouts were increased from $236 a week to $390 a week; the amount of borrowing is bound to increase for at least year.

Kentucky's Unemployment Insurance Fund is running out of money...

According to WAVE Channel 3 in Louisville, Kentucky the state of Kentucky's Unemployment Insurance fund is at risk of running out of money before February 2009.

Currently the unemployment insurance fund has less than $50 million in it, and once it runs out of cash the state of Kentucky will borrow money from the federal government to keep the insurance checks going.

Mortgage Insurance Unemployment

If you're concerned that the global economic events could lead to your eventual unemployment, you may want to look into purchasing Mortgage Insurance Unemployment---It's an insurance policy that temporarily pays your mortgage while you are unemployed and looking for work.

You can read up more on this mortgage insurance unemployment here at bankrate.com. But remember with any insurance policy be sure to get a few quotes before buying.

Connecticut's Extended (Tier 2) Unemployment Insurance Benefits

By Governor Rell's Office

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced today that unemployed Connecticut residents who have exhausted their 20 weeks of federally extended jobless benefits are now eligible for 13 more weeks of compensation.

The Governor said the 13-week extension applies to those jobseekers who have exhausted their initial 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance and the 20 weeks of federal benefits are now eligible for a “Second-Tier” of 13 weeks. Under federal guidelines, the 13 additional weeks are being made available to states experiencing unemployment rates of more than 6 percent over a certain amount of time.

“These additional 13 weeks of benefits represent a welcome relief to those citizens who are struggling to pay their bills and have not yet found new jobs,” Governor Rell said. “These additional weeks will give individuals who worked in Connecticut a total of 33 weeks of extended benefits.”

Governor Rell noted that approximately half of the states in the country have met the guidelines needed to receive federal funding for the additional 13 weeks. For those individuals who have not found new employment and are otherwise eligible, the “Second-Tier” benefits will be provided automatically after the initial 20 weeks of extended benefits have been exhausted.

Residents eligible for “Second-Tier” benefits will be notified by mail by the state Department of Labor after they exhaust their 20-week benefits extension. They can also access the information by Jan. 18 by reviewing their balance summaries that are available through DOL’s online WebBenefits system or the TeleBenefits phone service.

Labor Commissioner Patricia Mayfield said because of the national recession, the agency is currently processing approximately 5,000 new claims as well as 80,000 continued claims each week, a 50 percent increase over last year. She said in the final week of December, more than 100,000 unemployment checks were issued, totaling approximately $32 million.

Information posted on the Connecticut Department of Labor’s Web site, www.ct.gov/dol will provide updates and answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Those with general questions about the federal extension can also call toll-free at 1-877-522-6711.

California's Extended (Tier 2) Unemployment Insurance Benefits

This was a press release from California's Employment Development Department (EDD) and it lays out what needs to be done to get extended unemployment benefits, (aka Tier 2, Tier II benefits):

Federal legislation enacted in July 2008 provided up to 13 weeks of extended benefits for workers who exhausted their regular UI benefits in California and across the country. New legislation enacted in November 2008 adds up to 7 weeks to the earlier extension, for a total of up to 20 weeks of extended benefits. The new legislation states that these added benefits are only payable for weeks beginning on or after November 23, 2008. The new legislation also includes a second extension of up to 13 weeks for high unemployment states, which includes California. Eligible workers will receive a total of up to 33 weeks of extended benefits.

HOW TO FILE

To find out if you are eligible for the first or second extended unemployment claim you may apply online or call one of the telephone numbers listed below. The EDD anticipates high call volumes so you are encouraged to apply online.

• English: 1-800-300-5616
• Spanish: 1-800-326-8937
• Cantonese: 1-800-547-3506
• Mandarin: 1-866-303-0706
• Vietnamese: 1-800-547-2058
• TTY: (NON VOICE): 1-800-815-9387

You can read the rest of the release here...

You can read all of my California related posts here...

Georgia sees 174% increase in unemployment insurance filings

From the Atlanta Business Chronicle

State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond is calling a 174 percent increase in December unemployment claims “stunning and sobering.”

The Georgia Department of Labor reported Thursday 128,625 laid-off workers filed first-time claims for state unemployment insurance benefits in December.

“The December claims report confirms the severity of this economic downturn and increases the probability that the current recession will be long and difficult,” Thurmond said.

The metros with the highest percentage of increase in claims were Rome (up 351 percent), Dalton (up 349 percent) and Gainesville (up 216 percent).

Most of the state initial claims were filed by laid-off workers in the manufacturing, construction, and trade industries, along with administrative and support services, including temporary employment agencies.

The Georgia Department of Labor also processed 19,160 first-time claims for federal extended unemployment benefits, bringing the total to 111,384 since the federal program triggered in Georgia in July 2008. Federal extended benefits are available to jobless workers who have exhausted regular state unemployment compensation.

Initial Jobless Claims for Unemployment Insurance was 524,000 last week

From the WSJ:

By JEFF BATER and BRIAN BLACKSTONE

WASHINGTON -- The number of idled workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped last week as the recession forces companies to cut costs.

Meanwhile, U.S. producer prices fell for a fifth-straight month in December on steep declines in energy and food prices, suggesting that inflationary pressures continue to recede rapidly as the economic recession deepens.

Initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits increased by 54,000 to 524,000, after seasonal adjustments, in the week that ended Jan. 10, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Read the rest of the story here

Motorola to Layoff 4,000

According to a press release this afternoon Motorola is going to be laying off 4,000 people in 2009.

"Motorola will further reduce its workforce in 2009 by approximately 4,000 positions. This reduction will include approximately 3,000 positions associated with the Mobile Devices business and approximately 1,000 positions associated with corporate functions and other business units. The workforce reductions announced today are expected to begin immediately and are incremental to the 3,000 workforce reduction actions previously announced during the fourth quarter of 2008."

This will hurt Illinois unemployment rate---which was at 7.3% in October & November, 2008

Kansas unemployed get busy signals

Looks like Kansas is also having problems with the lines being busy and people having to try calling in 40 - 50 times... They've also bulked up their staff answering calls and their software to cope with deluge.

Read about other states' problems with unemployment insurance telephone lines being busy/overwhelmed here:

Virginia
Ohio
New York
Michigan
Colorado

Texas' unemployment insurance line & website are busy...

According to msnbc.com unemployment insurance claims in Texas are up over 60% from last year.

Some people have had to call 20 - 40 times in order to get through to a live person and their website has also sometimes had problems actually loading web pages.

So what are they doing? Well they've already hired 110 more people to work the phones and are hiring another 70 people, and they won't bust anybody's chops for filing late if it's because of problems with getting through the system.

Read more about other states' unemployment insurance systems going down/being busy here:
Virginia
Ohio
New York
Michigan
Colorado

Ohio Unemployment Insurance Benefits--Tier 2

I've noticed that many people have been finding my site looking for information on the State of Ohio's Unemployment Tier 2 (or Tier II) unemployment insurance benefits---Essentially an extension beyond the normal payouts.

In November, 2008 they updated a Q&A deck with this information.

You can read my other Ohio posts here.

**********************************************
Here's some key points:
**********************************************
Who is eligible to receive this extension?
Currently unemployed individuals who satisfy all of the following criteria could qualify:

• had an unemployment application in effect as of May 5, 2007, or later;
• have exhausted all regular state UC benefits;
• have no rights to regular UC or extended benefits under any other state unemployment compensation law or federal law or in Canada.
  

What are individuals eligible for?
Individuals are eligible to receive up to 20 weeks of additional benefits. These benefits are known as Tier 1 benefits. The extended benefit amounts will be the same as claimants’ previous UC benefit amounts, unless there is some other change in circumstances (such as an adjustment in deductible income, like child support). Individuals will be expected to continue their work search efforts. An additional 13 weeks of extended benefits, known as Tier 2 benefits, could be payable when a claimant exhausts his/her Tier 1 entitlement.

I think I am eligible for extended benefits. What do I do?

• Individuals who exhaust regular unemployment benefits will receive instructions on how to file for these benefits. Those individuals who are currently drawing federal extended benefits or have exhausted their original 13 week entitlement will automatically receive a recomputation of their total benefits payable as a result of the new legislation.
  

• This recomputation will add up to 7 weeks of federal extended benefits to their balance and will be sent out as soon as possible. For those individuals who previously exhausted their original 13 week entitlement, the first payable week for the 7 additional Tier 1 benefits is November 29, 2008.
  

How long will it take to process my application and start benefit payments?
Once claimants are determined to be eligible for extended benefits, payments will be issued on a routine, weekly or biweekly basis, with their preferred payment method (debit card or electronic funds transfer). ODJFS expects to contact those eligible for extended benefits between now and the week of December 22. Benefit payments are expected to begin the week of December 22, 2008 to those who are eligible.

From the editor's desk of the BLS...

This article is from the BLS editors... The most interesting tid-bit to me is that the number of people unemployed for 6 months or more has doubled in 2008.

********************************************************

January 13, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Unemployment in December 2008

In December, the number of unemployed persons increased by 632,000 to 11.1 million and the unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons has grown by 3.6 million, and the unemployment rate has risen by 2.3 percentage points.

Unemployment rate, December 2007-December 2008


Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs rose over the month by 315,000 to 6.5 million in December 2008. Over the past 12 months, the size of this group has increased by 2.7 million.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) rose to 2.6 million in December and was up by 1.3 million in 2008.

South Dakota's Unemployment line staying open longer

Associated Press - January 13, 2009 9:45 AM ET

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - More South Dakotans are losing their jobs, so the state's Unemployment Insurance Call Center has expanded its hours.

The Department of Labor office is now open from 8 a.m. to 6:20 p.m. Central time to take calls from people filing for benefits.

Labor Secretary Pam Roberts said this time of year is usually busy, but the center has been taking a higher than usual number of calls over the past two weeks.

She said it's the result of layoffs across the state.

The Unemployment Insurance program provides temporary financial help for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

Claims can be filed by calling 605-626-3179 or going online at http://www.sd.uiclaims.com.

Colorado's umemployment line is experiencing busy signals

Ever since December, plenty of folks from Colorado have been getting the busy signal---or have to wait on hold for hours before speaking with an unemployment insurance representative.

According to the news team at thedenverchannel.com, Colorado has seen almost a 100% increase in people calling the help-line, with the worst days being Mondays and Tuesdays.

Read more about other states' unemployment systems going down/being busy here:
Virginia
Ohio
New York
Michigan

How to file for unemployment

Thanks to the folks at unemploymentality for finding this little video that highlights how to file for unemployment.

Will Congress Subsidize COBRA insurance payments?

There are some stories circulating about that congress is thinking of subsidizing ~50% of people's COBRA insurance payments.

This would make it far more affordable for the people getting by on unemployment checks, and it would make it far more expensive for the corporations who are making the lay-offs--This is because, according to the article, for every $1 in COBRA insurance premiums collected the company pays out ~$1.50 in claims.

Tough Times in St. Louis

According to STLtoday.com the Carpenters Union representing 22,000 workers has opened up a food bank to help out unemployed Carpenters Union members.

Ohio's unemployment fund has run out of funds

According to businessweek.com the state of Ohio has run out of unemployment funds as of today.

Fortunately, benefit payments will not stop since the state is able to borrow $500 million from the federal government to pay benefits for the rest of January and February.

New Jersey to Extend unemployment insurance benefits for 60,000

According to NJBiz.com the state of New Jersey will "automatically file a claim for 13 additional weeks of federal Extended Unemployment Compensation Tier II benefits on behalf of approximately 60,000 unemployed workers who currently are collecting federal Extended Unemployment Compensation Tier I benefits."

New Jersey is one of several states that now offers extended unemployment insurance benefits, or Tier II (Tier 2) benefits, to people who have been unemployed for many weeks.

This is thanks to New Jersey having over 6% unemployment rate for 3 consecutive months.

50,000 New Yorkers to stop receiving unemployment insurance benefits this week

According to the New York Times over 50,000 New Yorkers are going to stop receiving their unemployment insurance benefits this week.

After receiving several extensions, these people have been receiving unemployment benefits for 11 months of up to a maximum payout of $405/week.

AP news story about unemployment

This AP news clip addresses the most recent unemployment figures (7.2% unemployment rate) and what Obama is thinking about doing to help fix the situation.

Idaho's Unemployment fund could run dry in 2010

This story is from MSNBC

Rising jobless claims draining state unemployment fund
KTVB-TV
updated 7:45 p.m. ET, Sat., Jan. 10, 2009

BOISE -- Unemployment claims are piling up at the Idaho Department of Labor as more layoffs are announced across the valley.

That’s one big reason Idaho lawmakers are expecting a lot of difficult choices when the 2009 session begins next Monday.

One of the biggest questions yet to be answered is whether there will be enough money to sustain the unemployment fund.

For the past several months the Department of Labor has been a busy place as more and more companies resort to layoffs in this bad economy.

And now that is really putting pressure on the state's unemployment fund.

In less than one year, unemployment in Idaho rose three percent.

Labor Department spokesman Bob Fisk says in 2008 they paid out twice the amount they took in to the unemployment fund. That's why the source that supplies the fund got hit with a tax rate hike.

"The tax rate on employers went up 70 percent in 2009 after declining in 2007, and ‘08 to the lowest point it has ever been," said Fick.

But Fick expects that tax rate hike won't be enough to help sustain the unemployment fund through 2010.

Just last week the state doled out $9 million to unemployed Idahoans.

"This economic slide has been so precipitous that the fund will continue to pay out much more than it takes in and 2009," said Fick.

In late 2007, the fund was at $320 million, but Fick projects it will be down to about $20 million by 2010.

That's why he is happy to hear the Legislature is planning to take a look at the situation this session.

"The most important thing that they make sure the way is clear for the department to get the bridge loan from the federal government to get us through the rocky spot, the first part of 2010," said Fick.

"If he says that’s the case I have full confidence he is concerned and we need to be working together with our Department of Labor to make sure we can take care of those needs," said Senate President Pro Tem Bob Geddes.

It's just one of many economic issues legislators will tackle beginning Monday.

"It’s going to be a tough legislative session,” said Geddes.

Fick says the fund was revised by the Legislature in 2005 and it’s designed to stay solvent.

He says Idaho in comparison to other states is still doing OK, while two or three states have already been forced to borrow from the federal government.

Expect City by City unemployment rates to worsen

Even though the BLS issued its report earlier this week that the national unemployment rate is at 7.2%, it will be several weeks before they issue data by state & city. So the best they currently have to offer by city is for November-2008 (During which the US unemployment rate was 6.8%.
You can see that Washington DC had only 4.4% unemployment rate, Boston 5.0%, and Houston and Phoenix were both at 5.5%.

Miami was at 6.4% unemployed, Chicago at 6.5%; And Los Angeles came in at 8.1% and Detroit at 9.5%.

Seeing as how the national unemployment rate increased by 50bps since the November reports (from which these cities were pulled), don't be surprised if most of these cities increased by 0.5% themselves once more data is published

COBRA insurance payments can eat up most of your Unemployment Insurance Benefit

This is why it's important to shop around for health insurance after getting laid-off. (This of course is difficult if you have preexisting conditions in your family.) Don't just accept the COBRA insurance without looking at other health insurance options as well.

From the Baltimore Sun:

Report: Health coverage eats up unemployment benefits

By David Kohn | david.kohn@baltsun.com

11:37 AM EST, January 9, 2009

A report issued today by the consumer health group Families USA finds that the average costs for family health insurance coverage eats up almost 84 percent of monthly unemployment benefits.

The study looked at Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) coverage, which allows a laid-off worker to retain employer-sponsored insurance but without the business contributions. That makes coverage much more expensive for individuals.

On average, national unemployment benefits are $1,278 a month compared with family COBRA premiums of $1,069 -- or 83.6 percent of those benefits. In Maryland, the average monthly benefit is $1,340 compared with a COBRA cost of $1,058 -- 79 percent of the total.

Average Hours worked per week continues to decline

According to this morning's release by the BLS the amount of hours worked every week continues to drop and has reached a record low since the BLS has been measuring this statistic (1964).

Here's a quote from the release:

In December, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on pri-
vate nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.2 hour to 33.3 hours, seasonally adjusted--the lowest
level on record for the series, which began in 1964.  The manufacturing workweek, at
39.9 hours, declined by 0.4 hour over the month, and factory overtime, at 3.0 hours,
declined by 0.3 hour.
This decrease in hours worked could be a precursor to further increases in both
the overall unemployment rate and the broad level of unemployment.

Broad Level of Unemployment Rate is at 13.5% in December 2008

The U-6 unemployment rate for December 2008 was also released by the BLS today. This figure includes the unemployed plus all marginally attached workers plus people who are working part-time for economic reasons as a percentage of the civilian labor force---It is also seasonally adjusted.

In layman's terms it shows the unemployed and the underemployed. And not only is the unemployment trend bad, it's getting worse as a quickening pace. As you can see in the chart below, the increase in broad unemployment was 90 basis points worse in December 2008 vs November 2008--this is the largest jump in the broad unemployment rate for the 15 years in which the BLS publishes data.

Click on Chart for a larger image