Unemployment extension: how it's being handled by the states

Congress passed a second extension of unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed workers in November, and Bush signed it into law. If you're eligible (or you think you are), how do you find out how to access those benefits?

The comments on this blog suggest there's a fair amount of confusion out there. One underlying reason is that while this extension is being paid by federal funds, the funds are managed by each state individually. There's no central database or place to sign up.

So I spent some time over the weekend looking up the agencies that administer unemployment benefits in all 50 states. Most states (37 of them) have posted at least some information online about the extension. The rest have not.

Overall, it looks like most states are saying the equivalent of Don't call us, we'll call you if you're eligible. Many states offer some kind of general guidelines about who is and isn't eligible, which is at least a little helpful. Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation offers only this (in English and Spanish):

Congress has enacted an additional seven week extension of unemployment insurance benefits. If you have already exhausted the 13 week extension of benefits you will be notified of the filing instructions within several weeks. Our operators have no further information at this time.

Over the next six blog posts I'm going to provide links to unemployment information for all 50 states. For states that have posted guidance on the extension, I'll link to that information. For those that don't, I'll link to the general unemployment page for workers.

If you have any more specific information or find any errors in my list, please let me know.

Comments

[Tessa]

Wow our gov is messed up, I have been trying for weeks to find out if Arizona will qualify for the additional 13 weeks on top of 7 if we hit over 6% IN NOVEMBER for the three month average and walla we did big time, but at this point AZ was only granted 7 weeks as for November stats where not it until today, so I call the Dept of Labor as a last resort to many of hours of research and phone calls and no one knowing anything and then the Dept of Labor knows nothing! Does anyone know? Our seven weeks run out the second week of January and we are the third lowest paid state and a very high cost of living, those of us whos extention ran out in Oct are many homeless as with so little help finanacially and over 8 weeks between help we sold all and still lost. SO CAN SOMEONE OUT THERE TELL ME ARE WE NOW GOING TO GET AN ADDITIONAL 13 WEEKS OR JUST OUT OF LUCK BECAUSE ON NOV 21 WE WHERE ONLY AVERAGED AT 5.9% PLEASE HELP

[Linda Smith]

When or if will Delaware know they will recieve of addition extension?

[kerian Stanford]

Why have Alabama not had a extension we have been without money for months and there are not jobs have I have been looking everyday with no luck, states around us has received one, and I think I still have money in there.