Unemployment Extension - No Decision Expected Until After November 2nd

The latest unemployment figures released by the US Department of Labor indicate that there was a slight drop in the number of new unemployment benefits applications being filled out last week, after the results released the previous week which indicated that over half a million people signed on for unemployment benefits in just one week. The latest weekly figures for new unemployment benefits applications is now approximately 473,000 which is an improvement over the previous week’s figures, but still a relatively high figure nonetheless.

With the number of unemployed people in the US increasing by such vast numbers every week, and the economy having almost stalled, meaning that there are few new jobs being created, economic analysts as well as people who are currently on unemployment benefits are becoming increasingly concerned. However, no action regarding the unemployment extension issue is expected to be taken before the mid-term elections scheduled for the 2nd of November, and the Republicans have already outlined their stance on the unemployment benefits issue, which is to discontinue current extensions to the federal unemployment benefits structure and altogether scrap plans for the proposed introduction of a new Tier 5 to the existing unemployment benefits structure.

Leading economic analysts have predicted that if Congress fails to take some positive action regarding the unemployment extension issue and thereby fails to come to the aid of the millions of Americans who lost their jobs, an estimated seven million of these people will lose all means of financial support by the end of this year.