1.3 Million Americans Lost Unemployment Benefits Over Weekend

On Saturday, some 1.3 million Americans lost their federal unemployment benefits due to expiration, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The benefits were provided by Congress under extension when the jobless situation increased during the recession. The benefits had been extended 11 times by the government. The benefits could receive yet another extension when the Senate convenes on January 6, according to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada). A quick vote to extend the benefits for at least three months should happen quickly.

The smallest problem recipients of the benefits could face is that their checks will arrive later than normal. The worst problem they could face is that the benefits could end completely. With the expiration of the benefits on Saturday, recipients can only acquire benefits for up to 26 weeks in the majority of the country. This is a decrease of almost double the amount of time in most states.

Every state in the country except for one, North Dakota, has added more people than jobs since the start of the recession. The difference between population growth and jobs in the country equals 9.2 million jobs. This data has been released by the Economic Policy Institute. In 33 states, the difference between the population growth and the job growth has hit five-percent or higher.

The states with the highest amount of residents who lost benefits on Saturday include California with 215,000 and New York with 125,000, according to data from the Democrats on the House Committee on Ways and Means.

When it comes to a share of a state’s population, New Jersey is the state that will be the hardest hit due to the benefit expiration. There were 90,000 people who lost their benefits on Saturday, which equates to one-percent of the state’s population. The states that will incur the lowest damage are that of North Dakota and South Dakota. These two states will see less than 0.5 percent of their populations affected by the loss of benefits.