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Snapshot for November 19, 2008.
The need for another unemployment benefit extension
by Kai Filion
In June, it was clear that the U.S. economy was faltering. The national unemployment rate was 5.5%, and in the last week of that month 404,000 new people filed for unemployment insurance (see figure).1 Because it was so difficult for the unemployed to find work, Congress passed an emergency 13-week extension to unemployment benefits starting in July.
Since that time, the job market has deteriorated even more. The unemployment rate has increased to 6.5% nationally, and it is above 8.5% in some states. In the second week of November, an additional 516,000 workers filed for unemployment insurance, the highest level of new claims filed since the aftermath of September 2001.
Over 890,000 unemployed workers already have exhausted their 13-week extension,2 and another 1.2 million are projected to exhaust benefits by year's end.3 Without these benefits, the Congressional Budget Office finds that about 50% of the long-term unemployed fall under the poverty line.4 Congress should act swiftly to extend benefits for another seven weeks in all states, and an additional 20 weeks (for a total of 33) in states with unemployment over 6.0%.
Check out other recent Snapshots on unemployment trends:
The unemployment trend by state (Sept. 24, 2008)
Got work? (Sept. 17, 2008)
Notes
1. Unemployment rate and level: BLS Current Population Survey (CPS). Unemployment Insurance: Department of Labor, Seasonally Adjusted weekly claims.
2. Communication from House Committee on Ways and Means, majority staff.
3. See the National Employment Law Project report Helping the Jobless Helps Us All.
4. Smith, Ralph; March 2004; Family Income of Unemployment Insurance Recipients; CBO
Check out the archive for past Economic Snapshots.
A weekly presentation of downloadable charts and short analyses designed to graphically illustrate important economic issues, Snapshots are updated every Wednesday.
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