President Obama Re-authorizes Federal Unemployment Extension for 2012 Due To Continuously High Unemployment Numbers

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 12, 2011

In the darkness of unemployment, there is still a glimmer of hope for 13.7 million Americans currently collecting unemployment shown on Unemployment-Extension.Org (as of May 2011).

President Obama has reauthorized the federal unemployment extension benefits for another 13 months. That means eligible unemployed workers will still be able to collect maximum benefits while trying to secure a new job.

The unemployment extension is sorely needed otherwise the state agencies will not be able to cope with the catastrophe. Imagine the millions of homeless, angry and desperate people who have nobody to turn to. They have no check. No income. An extension would be a life line for these people until more jobs open up to Americans. Unemployment-Extension.Org trends show there are currently four times more people looking for jobs than there are jobs available.

The problem of joblessness is heating up like a nuclear plant - it could well blow up into a national emergency if it is not resolved soon enough. Most wonder if the news media has given sufficient coverage to the problems of the unemployed. It would not be a popular subject until the November election. Neither is it visual enough for the television camera - there are no dead bodies in the street or oil-covered birds or floods in the street.

On a positive note, there are some hirings in the auto sector, according to Vice President Biden.

Although the jobless rate is at 9 percent we have seen some other mild improvements. For example, in forty out of our fifty states, the numbers of claims in regards to unemployment have decreased.

More people applied for unemployment benefits for the week ending 27 May, the first increase in three weeks and evidence that the job market is still sluggish. The number of people seeking benefits rose by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 424,000, according to the Labor Department.

Some argue against the extensions.

According to Unemployment-Extension.Org Research Service report, in October 2010 there were roughly 1.5 million 99ers in the country. The “99ers” refer to those who have exhausted the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment insurance without finding work. These people have already exhausted their benefits but there should be point when they just expire, isn't it? We cannot afford to pay them forever, can we?

How long more can the federal and state governments continue to provide extended jobless benefits? About 30 states borrowed more than $44 billion from the federal government to continue payments to laid-off workers. The sharp increase in the number of people who lost their jobs drained the reservoir of money dedicated to paying out benefits. In fact, many state governments have already begun to cut unemployment benefits.

Some also argue that the extension discourages people from looking for work because apparently some would rather sit around collecting meager checks. They get paid more on unemployment than if they worked a 40-hours work week. After taxes and gas, there is not much money left of their salary.

Maybe there are jobs out there but most people are not looking. The low paying jobs are held by illegal immigrants and green card holders. Would Americans work for $8 an hour at the drugstores and retail stores?

To be fair, there are people who are actively looking for a decent job, but however hard they look a lot of them will not be able to find one. Some of these jobs have gone overseas where labor are cheaper; some have been overtaken by technology while most businesses are just getting by with fewer employees.