New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) Commissioner Harold Wirths announced today that a continuation of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) has been signed into law by President Barack Obama.
A safety net may be pulled out from under millions of Americans at the end of 2012, unless leaders in Washington choose to renew the program that has been keeping them afloat.
The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid fell sharply last week as a temporary spike caused by Superstorm Sandy has faded. Weekly applications have fallen back to a level consistent with modest hiring.
The Congressional Budget Office says extending the current level of long-term unemployment benefits for another year would add 300,000 jobs to the economy.
The state announced a slight decrease in New Jersey's unemployment rate on Thursday, but the data was gathered before Superstorm Sandy blasted the state.
If you have a job in the Garden State, you are paying into New Jersey's Unemployment Insurance (UI) Trust Fund. That fund is used to pay benefits to the unemployed who are eligible.