JOBLESS BENEFITS IN PERIL UNLESS STATE ACTS

posted by Michael Chihak

BY DIANA SOKOLOVA

Will Arizona's governor and Legislature approve an extension of unemployment benefits for an estimated 15,000 Arizonans before the deadline expires on Saturday?

Whether they act or not, Arizona Week on Friday will look at the political and economic ramifications of extending benefits for people who have been out of work at least 18 months.

Brewer has indicated she is willing to allow extension of the benefits, but until now, she hasn't called the special legislative session that would be needed to change the law, because lawmakers have not agreed to vote for an extension.

Arizona’s April unemployment rate was 9.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The rate dropped from 9.5 percent in March and 9.6 percent in February 2011. The report for May will be released on June 17.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 297,457 people were registered as unemployed in April in Arizona, down from 303,209 in March. Unemployment peaked in January at 304,828.

The bureau reported Phoenix metropolitan area unemployment at 8.1percent, Tucson 7.9 percent, Yuma 25.3 percent, Prescott 9.5 percent and Flagstaff 7.6 percent.

Weekly unemployment benefits range from $60 to $240, depending on what a person earned when employed, according to the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Total cost of the Extended Benefit Program, all federal money, is $3.5 million a week in Arizona.

Arizona provides 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits, an additional 53 weeks of federal emergency benefits and, under the Extended Benefit Program, an additional 20 weeks for the long-term unemployed. That last 20 weeks is what is in jeopardy unless new legislation is enacted.