Help for those losing EUC unemployment insurance
Federal
program ends Dec. 29; regular unemployment continues
IDES
faces 20 percent federal budget cut
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[December 26, 2012]
CHICAGO -- A list of public and
private programs to assist individuals losing unemployment insurance
because the federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation program ends
Dec. 29 is available at the Illinois Department of Employment
Security.
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The compiled data at
www.ides.illinois.gov offers guidance for citizens who might
need assistance with food, clothing or shelter. Special assistance
for veterans is included. The
list
represents often-used programs and is not meant to be exhaustive.
Also at the website are tips for those considering
starting
their own business. An estimated 90,000 people who worked in
Illinois are eligible for the federal Emergency Unemployment
Compensation program, which represents weeks 26-53 of the
unemployment insurance safety net. The EUC program ends Dec. 29. The
state regular unemployment insurance program continues. The state
program represents the first 25 weeks of unemployment insurance.
After Dec. 29, approximately 2,800 people each week will complete
their eligibility for the state's regular program and will not have
access to the federal EUC.
IDES is federally funded, and funding is partly tied to the
number of people collecting unemployment. That number will fall
because federal EUC ends ($16M cut) and there are fewer people
collecting the state's regular unemployment ($11M cut). When
combined with potential cuts from the fiscal cliff ($17M cut), the
IDES budget could be cut $44 million annually, or about 20 percent.
These cuts come at a time when the numbers of claims remain 38
percent higher than prior to the recession. The cuts represent
operational costs, not benefits.
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To live within its budget, IDES already has non-scheduled 216
intermittent employees, consolidated eight offices and vacated 10
outpost locations shared with partners. The federal cuts might
necessitate further service reductions, including additional office
consolidations.
The unemployment rate identifies those who are out of work and
seeking employment. Individuals who exhaust their benefits, or are
ineligible, will still be reflected in the unemployment rate if they
actively seek work. Unemployment insurance is a temporary program
designed to help individuals and businesses during economic
downturns. Every $1 in unemployment insurance generates $1.63 in
economic activity because the dollars are quickly spent at
neighborhood businesses such as groceries, gas stations and clothing
stores.
[Text from
Illinois
Department of Employment Security
file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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