2-month extension to unemployment benefits approved

[December 23, 2009]  CHICAGO -- Congress passed and the president signed into law a two-month extension of unemployment insurance benefits. Without the extension, up to 10,000 Illinois workers each week would have exhausted their unemployment benefits starting Jan. 2, the Illinois Department of Employment Security said Tuesday. The action delays the beginning of program exhaustions until the end of February.

Illinois workers on the verge of exhausting benefits need not contact IDES offices to apply for this extension. Eligibility will be determined automatically. Should there be a question about eligibility, the IDES will contact those claimants directly.

Unemployment insurance is a federal and state program. Each state creates laws to administer the program at its discretion within specific federal parameters. Since 2008, Congress, with the leadership of Presidents Bush and Obama, temporarily authorized additional unemployment assistance to support the unemployed as well as the communities in which they reside. Without this latest extension, the additional benefits would have begun to sunset at the end of December.

Contributions by Illinois businesses are set by state law and fund the first 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. Illinois also has leveraged more than $1.8 billion in federal funds to pay benefits past the initial 26 weeks.

Unemployment insurance was never intended to replace an individual's income. It always was intended to provide financial assistance to an individual during challenging economic conditions and, as a result, help businesses that the individual patronizes. Benefit amounts are set by state law. The average weekly Illinois benefit payment is about $315. The maximum weekly amount is $534.

The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate for November is 10 percent. For Illinois, the same November rate is 10.9 percent. Unemployment rates have not been at these levels since 1983.

The unemployment rate is not the same measurement as those collecting unemployment benefits. The unemployment rate identifies those who are out of work and seeking employment, regardless if they are eligible for unemployment insurance. Workers collecting unemployment benefits are counted separately. Therefore, a person who exhausts unemployment insurance benefits or is ineligible for unemployment insurance would still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they are seeking employment.

[Text from Illinois Department of Employment Security file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]