Friday, December 20, 2013

And a very Merry Christmas to you

“The children don’t grin;
The Santas are thin…
And all through the land folks are bawling
And filled with despair
‘Cause cupboards are bare.”
Annie - the musical

Three days after Christmas this year, 1.3 million laid-off American workers will see their unemployment benefits stopped. These are working people caught in the worst economic crisis in more than 70 years, one that will not end. Unemployment is still officially 7.0 percent - with nearly 11 million people officially unemployed and millions more out of the labor force or working part time despite wanting full-time jobs. There are 3 unemployed workers for every job and the average length of unemployment is more than 37 weeks.

The Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program is scheduled to end December 28, 2013 - reducing unemployment benefits from 63 weeks to 26 weeks in many states. According to the Department of Labor, 3.2 million Americans will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of June if this program is not continued.

From here

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