Do extended unemployment benefits discourage job searches?
Last month, after two months of partisan wrangling in the Senate, Congress extended the eligibility for federal unemployment benefits through the end of November. This month, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich) introduced another federal unemployment benefit extension that would add a fifth tier of unemployment benefits, extending the length of time a person could draw unemployment benefits to 119 weeks in the states hit hardest by the recession. The Senate left for its August recess without voting on that bill. The long-term unemployed who’ve been unable to land a job in a market where there are five people competing for every available job said the extension of unemployment benefits was a lifeline that would enable them to keep food on the table and gas in their cars while they continue their job search. And 99ers — those who would benefit from Stabenow’s proposed bill — are celebrating the fact that someone in Congress finally proposed a bill that would provide them additional benefits du
