Connecticut not Qualified for Unemployment Extension Under House Bill
UNEMPLOYMENT CONN
Norwalk Hour
Katerina Voutsina
Boston University Washington News Service
09/23/2009
WASHINGTON—Connecticut’s unemployed would not qualify at this time for extended unemployment benefits under a House-passed bill.
The bill, which the House approved, 331-83, on Tuesday, would extend benefits by 13 weeks to workers in states where the unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher. But Connecticut’s jobless rate in August was 8.1 percent.
“The simple fact is that many Connecticut families are struggling,” U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4, who voted in favor of the bill, said in a statement.
“Before the economy gets better, we expect even more workers to lose their jobs,” he added. “The extension I voted for Tuesday will help to ensure that if the unemployment rate continues to rise, our state has necessary funds to help those workers and their families weather the storm while they get back on their feet.”
The bill still needs to pass the Senate before it can be sent to the president.
State Sen. Bob Duff, D-25, saying in a statement that “now it is the time to act,” added that “I will certainly convey my thoughts to the federal delegation and urge them to act accordingly” to include Connecticut in the legislation.
Jeffrey B. Wenger, associate professor of public administration and policy at the University of Georgia, said “the bill is fine. This is the nature of making policy. Are our unemployment benefits adequate? The answer is no.” He said the situation in Connecticut is bad but the situation is twice as bad in states like Michigan where the unemployment rate is 15.2 percent.
Donald L. Klepper-Smith, chief economist and director of research at DataCore Partners in New Haven, said that he expects Connecticut’s unemployment rate to top out at 9 percent. “That would be less than the national percent that may top out between 10 and 10.5 percent,” he said.
“The unemployment rate in Connecticut and nationally is going to rise because …activity is going to be weak and the labor force businesses are going to make do with the workforce that they have,” he added.
Jamey Bell, executive director of Connecticut Voices for Children, a research-based policy think tank, said the impact of the recession has been particularly severe in Connecticut.
“Unemployment in Connecticut is higher than at any time since 1977, and the number of jobs has fallen to the lowest point since 1998,” she said. “Connecticut’s job creation engine has stopped working for our families.”
The group’s annual report on The State of Working Connecticut finds that stagnating wages and racial and ethnic wage gaps reveal longer-term economic problems that threaten the ability of many families to weather the recession.
Bell said Connecticut has been losing jobs for which less than a high school diploma is required. “Connecticut workers need some longer unemployment benefits here,” she said. She added that the 13 extra weeks of unemployment benefits “would provide workers with the financial support they need to get employment or gain new skills.”
Duff, in his statement said: “My hope is that our congressional delegation will work to make sure Connecticut is included in the bill. If someone is unemployed they don’t care whether the unemployment rate is 4 percent or 10 percent. It is a stressful time for families, especially in such a high-cost-of-living area such as ours.”
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