Do You Need Extended Unemployment?

Today’s job market is bleak, but responding slightly to the stimulus funds of the Recovery Act.  As jobs slowly trickle towards families in Michiana and Chicagoland, unemployment benefits slowly trickle away.  These benefits include health insurance and are designed to help families and individuals who are temporarily unable to find work.  However, unemployment trends have lingered far longer than these benefits can last. Individuals are then “cut off’ from the benefits after a certain period of time, but in some cases, extended unemployment is available.

If you happen to be one of the many who have found out that you may be losing your unemployment benefits even though you still can’t find work, it’s time to act. Ask about the extended unemployment options that are available to you and see what you need to do to qualify for these extended benefits in your state.

Remember all Those Taxes?

Remember how many taxes were taken out of each of your paychecks over the years? That monthly annoyance can pay off dividends now.  Take advantage of this reservoir of funds until you can get back in the workplace. Unemployment insurance is there to help you in times like this where jobs are few and far between and workers are being laid off or losing their jobs completely.

The Federal Unemployment Act

The Federal Unemployment Act was put in place during a similarly volatile time in our nation’s job history.  The Act was put in place in 1939 to stave off the lingering affects of the Great Depression. In 1932, 25% of America’s workforce was unemployed. President Franklin Roosevelt felt American’s needed “some safeguard against misfortunes which cannot be wholly eliminated in this man-made world of ours.”  Many features of the Unemployment Act do just that, protecting Americans from tough economic times like we are currently experiencing. You can find some additional information on the Act and tax benefits here.

Extended Unemployment

Extended unemployment options are available because finding a job in a necessary time frame in proving to be harder to do than what one realizes. Many Americans are unaware that these extended benefits exist, much less how to take advantage of them.

In many cases, this means that you will have to ask your unemployment office about the services and options. The more you are informed, the better decisions you will be able to make and the better off that you will be in the end. The spirit that pulled us from the Great Depression still runs through this country, but it will take hard work and togetherness to make sure we respond to this current economic climate.