Massachusetts Unemployment Benefits Extended
The Mass. unemployment benefits extension comes on the heels of the news that Mass. unemployment has risen again, from April's 4.1 percent to May's 4.9 percent, according to the Boston Herald. The Mass. unemployment increase is catching up the national unemployment rate.
Mass. Unemployment and the National Rate
The June unemployment rate in the United States is 5.5% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Labor Department reports a loss of 62,000 jobs as employers, including Citigroup and Starbucks, have been increasingly cutting jobs. This is the sixth month in a row that jobs have declined, according to the Labor Department as reported by the AFLCIO.
The extended benefits are being funded 100 percent by federal money. Local businesses and Massachusetts employers do not have to worry about paying for the extensions, according to the Massachusetts DUA.
Benefits and Insurance
Governor Deval Patrick has made the Mass. unemployment extension available immediately, starting July 7, 2008. The extension will end on March 28, 2009, according to the Massachusetts DUA.
Approximately 95,000 letters of eligibility are being mailed to residents who "may be eligible" for the Mass. unemployment benefits, according to the Massachusetts DUA.
How to File
As of July 7, 2008, Massachusetts residents may call 1-888-998-8418 for more information on filing their extended benefits claims. The toll-free number hours are Mondays through Thursdays from 8:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m., Fridays from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Sunday hours will start on July 13, 2008 and will be from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. (Massachusetts DUA).
Benefits
The extended benefits will be paid "within three to four weeks" after July 6, 2008, when the extension begins, according to the DUA.
Sources
"U.S. Jobs: Down Again,"http://blog.aflcio.org/2008/07/03/us-jobs-down-again
Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov
Massachusetts DUA, "Information on Unemployment Insurance Extended Benefits," http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=elwdterminal&L=4&L0=Home&L1=Government&L2=Departments+and+Divisions+(EOLWD)&L3=Division+of+Unemployment+Assistance&sid=Elwd&b=terminalcontent&f=dua_understanding_ui_info_extended_benefits&csid=Elwd
"Mass. unemployment jumps to 4.9 percent in May," http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view/2008_06_19_Mass__unemployment_jumps_to_4_9_percent_in_May
"Unemployment benefits extended in Massachusetts,"http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/06/30/daily22.html
U.S. Department of Labor, http://www.dol.gov
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25 Comments
Post a CommentHas anyone gotten a letter stating that we have been over payed and we would get another letter in two weeks if we were with a waiver this is before they are going to give us the new extention for Nov 2009, So please tell me if anyone else has gotten one of these letters. Thanks
As my extensions have ended., I am left wondering where all the jobs the president promised to us, as the country continues to lose jobs.
So we are left hung to dry, dropped from our health insurance, and bills to pay.?
times are tough and getting much tougher. how are we all suppose to servive if the govenor doesn't help us. what about a fourth extension?? I guess if you are made of money, the it really doesn't matter does it. soon we will be living tents...if we can afford it. thanks to the goverment.
what happens after the current extension runs out? i seek work everyday but no luck:( how are we suppose to live are we gonna get a bailout like the companies, times are tough i've worked all my life but this recession is killing the industrys and jobs are rare to find are we going to get more help? I hope so, we shouldnt have to worry how we are gnna eat or pay bills
Aug. 16th and still no info on when the "software problems" are going to be corrected and the extended benefits money will be released. Also, every call to the extended benefits phone number is met with a recording requesting a callback on another day due to the call volume. What's up with all this run around? Dua sent the eligibility letter to call and restart the benefits. Is the extension going to commence or not?"
and tell all ya buddys at the border that they should turn around because this place sux so bad! what are you an idiot ?or just some poor me meat head that thinks the u.s. owes you something.i"m shore we got a bunker busta for ya. hu!hu!
I never said love it or leave it. There are better ways to deal with it than to complain about Bush. Everyone seems to think The President of the United States is a supreme being who controls everything in the world. He is one man, with a lot of bad ideas that had to go through congress. Nothing we can do to change what has happened any time soon. If you are going to hold him personally responsible, you also need to blame all of the millions of people who voted for him. You all destroyed the country!! This blog is supposed to be about unemployment by the way :)
Ah, the idiotic "love it or leave it" faction has been heard from. Congratulations on being part of the problem.
For your FYI everyone...the government actually makes money from giving unemployment at our expense. First off you have the huge premium of unemployment insurance. Secondly the recipients of unemployment must pay state and federal tax on it I found out! If that isn't the most bizarre, ironic thing then I don't know what is. So the government is making money when you benefits that the companies all pay for are released! Therefore the more people collecting unemployment - the better for Uncle Sam. So before you change your mind about Bush and believe he has a newly aquired sensitivity to the working American struggling to make ends meet, think about that.
If we got rid of the completely wasteful department of homeland security, eradicated the massive security camera deployment funded by the federal government in each in every city eventually, and stopped causing wars all over the world in an effort for mass domination and control we would not have the financial problems we have today one of the most serious being the devaluation of the dollar. The gvt. just keeps printing more and more of it with less value backing it up. Recipe for disaster.
We trust a bunch of undereducated, low paid federal security officers with our most private and intimate information in the name of national security. Talk about naive and close minded! Trust me I have known many people for years and years who are now federal law enforcement and you would not trust any of them to have as much knowledge as your shoe size, let alone know your private interests and habits.
Bush is not the problem by the way...he is just a puppet. It is the super-elite r