Michigan and other hardest-hit states will receive 20-week extension of benefits

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) today announced passage of legislation that will provide a seven-week extension of unemployment insurance to people who have exhausted their current benefits and still cannot find work. States like Michigan, with a 6% unemployment rate or higher, will be given an additional 13 weeks of benefits, for a total extension of 20 weeks. This legislation comes on the heels of a recent report by the Department of Labor citing Michigan’s latest unemployment rate at a staggering 9.3%.

“Our economy has endured eight years of failed economic policies,” said Stabenow. “Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and from coast to coast, middle-class families are struggling to put food on the table and make ends meet as we face record job loss. This extension of unemployment insurance will provide support to families who need it the most.”

According to a recent report by the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy has lost 1.2 million jobs since January with over half of those jobs lost in the last three months. Without any additional unemployment insurance, over one million Americans are estimated to run out of current extended benefits by the end of the year. In Michigan, 429,300 people are currently unemployed and many are expected to exhaust current benefits by the end of the year.

The bill will now go to the President for his expected signature.