Millions of unemployed workers stand to lose their unemployment insurance benefits unless Congress extends the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program that is set to expire on November 30. In a letter to Congressional leaders, EPI President Lawrence Mishel said that these emergency benefits should be extended for 12 months in order to provide a safety net for the jobless and bolster the economy by stimulating demand.

Mishel and Harvard University economist Lawrence Katz also gathered the signatures of 33 prominent economists who warn that letting the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program expire will weaken the economy.

Letter from Mishel and statement from leading American economists