Unemployment-benefit programs lead to confusion

Even as President Obama convenes his forum on job creation today, people such as warehouse worker Al Schork of Bensalem wonder where the work is.

"It is really rough," said Schork, 61, who lost his job in April and is now among the 10.2 percent of unemployed American workers. "There are no jobs out there."

Compounding the problem for Schork and others like him is confusion about unemployment benefits.

Federal stimulus funding for additional jobless benefits begins to phase out Dec. 31, although legislation was introduced yesterday to continue it into 2010.

Schork, who has received the standard 26 weeks of benefits paid for by the state of Pennsylvania and is now in the middle of 20 extra weeks funded by the federal government, wonders what's next. He keeps hearing about various programs, a stupefying stew of acronyms.

"What do you use first?" Schork asked. "EB? EC? EUB? I'm getting confused with all these different programs."

When it comes to confusion, he isn't alone. Even government professionals administering these programs in the 50 states are befuddled.

"Every time Congress passes another extension, it makes us confused," said Patrick T. Beaty, deputy secretary for unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania.

The most recent extension, signed Nov. 6, set off a wave of uncertainty. It took three conference calls between the U.S. Department of Labor and Beaty and his fellow administrators to straighten it out.

To see how difficult the benefit extensions are to understand, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware all take a different approach.

Here is how the system works: An unemployed person first receives 26 weeks of state-funded benefits. Then stimulus bills passed in 2008 and early 2009 added 33 weeks to that, bringing the total to 59 weeks of help. Those extra weeks come in two federally funded parts known as emergency unemployment compensation, or EUC.

Meanwhile, high unemployment rates triggered a separate program called extended benefits, or EB. Usually funded jointly by the state and the federal government, this 20-week program has been entirely funded by the federal government through the stimulus legislation. It reverts to 50-50 funding at year's end.

Then, on Nov. 6, Obama signed legislation providing an additional 13 weeks of EUC benefits - with the restriction that no one could start any new EUC federal benefits after Dec. 31.

That's where it got tricky.

Could someone receiving the 20 weeks of extended EB benefits at year's end still get the final 13 EUC weeks? Even the federal government wasn't clear about that until early last week.

In Pennsylvania, workers in the middle of the 20-week EB program will finish those weeks and still get their final 13 weeks of EUC benefits. People finishing federal EUC weeks will get EB. If they start the EB after Jan. 1, they will get 13 weeks, not 20.

Schork, for example, can finish his current 20 EUC weeks, ending in February or March. If unemployment stays high in Pennsylvania, he will qualify for the 13 EB weeks.

In New Jersey, workers in the middle of EB will be interrupted and enrolled in the final 13 weeks of the federal EUC program. Then, they can resume their 20 weeks of EB.

In Delaware, workers on EB will be switched to the federal EUC program before the year ends. Delaware will not continue its EB program.

David J. Socolow, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, applauds legislation to extend benefits.

"The labor market is still under stress," he said. "That's why it is warranted to continue these benefits past January, because it doesn't look like there is the number of jobs to match the number of people who are unemployed."

Unemployment insurance compensation (UC or UI)

Funding: State.

Duration: 26 weeks.

Information: These are the first benefits an unemployed person receives.

Extended Benefits (EB)

Funding: Usually a federal-state split. Under February's stimulus act, the feds have been picking up the entire tab. State-fed split resumes in January.

Duration: 13-20 weeks, depending on each state's unemployment rate.

Information: Applies to high-unemployment states.

Emergency unemployment compensation (EUC)

Funding: Federal, through the stimulus act.

Duration: First tier, 20 weeks; second tier, 14 weeks; third tier, 13 weeks; fourth tier, 6 weeks.

Information: Tiers three and four were passed in November. No one can actually get tier four because of timing issues.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Labor

EndText