Right now the Federal Reserve is keeping interest rates low (near 0%) because they are continually pumping more money into the economy trying to kick start it. Well, it hasn’t help much over the last 4 years and it looks like their own projections say that the national unemployment rate will remain high all the way into 2015. That is a full 2 more years of unemployment rates of 7% or higher!

The Fed’s plan is to artificially keep interest rates low until the unemployment rate goes below 6.5% and they think that won’t be until 2015 at the earliest. Of course a lot can go wrong between now and then as the world economy isn’t in the best shape so it could even be longer than that.

This is very scary news for anyone looking for a job and young people who are graduating college. What is it like to graduate in a time when jobs are so hard to find? No solid prospects and no relief in sight? Well for all the young people who voted for Obama, they are getting what they voted for so lets not hear any complaining!

Our government is running out of things to do to bring in money and the bureaucrats in Washington refuse to curb their spending addiction. The Obama Democrats want to try to solve the problem in their usual way: raise taxes on everyone who is working.

Something has to give sooner or later. Too many people are out of work and the nation’s debt is too high. Will our elected leaders ever grow up, bite the bullet, and make the right choices even though they are unpopular?

Have you been worried whether your unemployment benefits would be extended into 2013? You don’t need to any longer because the result of that fiscal cliff deal was that nothing changed regarding your extended benefits.

Tens of thousands of people across the country could have lost their extended unemployment had no agreement been reached. But in the early hours of 1/1/2013 Democrats and Republicans did come to an agreement and in it was the provision that extended benefits would stay the same for all states.

If you were in the midst of getting those addition months of benefits before the end of the year, nothing should have changed and they should continue to come as long as you satisfy all conditions. But to be absolutely sure about the rules in every state, make sure you visit your state unemployment website and read the latest information.

]]> http://fileforunemployment.org/2013/01/09/fiscal-cliff-averted-unemployment-benefits-have-been-extended-to-end-of-2013/feed/ 0 http://fileforunemployment.org/2012/09/11/need-a-stable-job-statistics-show-you-should-work-for-the-government/ http://fileforunemployment.org/2012/09/11/need-a-stable-job-statistics-show-you-should-work-for-the-government/#comments Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:10:07 +0000 supervisor http://fileforunemployment.org/?p=1325

If you are trying to file for unemployment, the first place you should start to look for a job is with the government. President Obama has spent the last 4 years making government bigger and statistics show that the industry of “government” has the lowest unemployment rates of all.

While the national unemployment rate hasn’t been below 8% in years, the rate for government unemployment is just 5.1%. That means government workers have a much better chance of keeping their jobs than those people who work out in the “real” world.

Getting a job somewhere in government (state, local, national) just seems like the smart thing to do in 2012. If government is going to keep getting bigger, that means their workers are not as prone to lay offs and more hiring will be taking place than in most other industries. Here is a excerpt from New American:

Government jobs are notorious for being relatively stable and you might have heard the joke that says if you want a job you can’t get fired from, work for the government. It looks like there is some truth to that as the low unemployment numbers for government workers show. So, take advantage of this opportunity and start looking for state jobs and jobs within government agencies.

The main problem with trying to collect both unemployment and workers comp at the same time is that the two have requirements that are seemingly opposite of one another. Let me explain.

In order to file for unemployment, you need to have been laid off but still able to work. In fact, the requirement in all 50 states is that to continue to collect unemployment, you have to be actively searching for a job.

With workers compensation however, often times the injured worker can’t work because of the injury. Logically then, if they can’t work they then can’t be actively seeking a job which is the requirement for unemployment benefits.

In reality though, sometimes it is possible to collect the two at the same time or one before the other. For instance, many people want to collect unemployment while they wait for the workers comp benefits to come through. Sometimes this is possible and sometimes it is not. Also, a worker may not be able to continue on with one job but can do a different job (which they are actively seeking) and might be able to collect both benefits while they search.

In the end, every situation with every worker is different. Additionally, the rules in each state might be slightly different. This means that you will not be able to get an answer to your specific case on the Internet and you should contact someone (perhaps a workers compensation lawyer) in your state who can analyze your situation.

August 2012: A new rule has just been put in place that requires unemployment recipients in South Carolina to log on to the state job website (SC Works) and search for at least one job. The reason for this new policy is so that it can be verified that people who are unemployed are indeed looking for a job.

If you don’t sign up to and log into the job website, you unemployment benefits for the week will be forfeited. As this new rule has just gone into effect it has caught many people off-guard. Reportedly more than 10,000 people lost their benefits the first week. To read more about this new policy, please go here.

The CBO just came out with a report that says the nation’s unemployment rate will remain over 8% for the rest of the year. That is the “official” unemployment rate but we all know that it is really much higher because that rate doesn’t include people who have given up looking, are working part time instead of full time, or working jobs that pay much less than they are qualified to earn.

Anyone who is filing for unemployment and looking for work knows that it is extremely difficult to find jobs that are meaningful and pay what they did in years past. Just getting and interview seems like a big accomplishment but then you realize that at least a dozen other people are also interviewing for the same job.

8% unemployment (and higher) now seems to be the new norm for the United States and that is a sad situation indeed.

When you couple high unemployment with the massive debt this nation has rung up, we have a situation that is unfamiliar to anyone living today. The end result of this could be MUCH worse than the great depression and one has to wonder whether our elected “leaders” really care about anything other than getting re-elected.

Whoever gets elected President in November has a tall task in front of them and I seriously wonder whether either can solve the problem. Is it already too late for a turn around?

It seems that due to multiple clerical and administrative errors, the state of Colorado paid out more than $128 million in error to people on unemployment in 2011 and now it wants the money back in 2012. Very little of that was fraud and that is what makes this high number so astounding.

If you did get paid in error, you WILL owe the money back to the state and it doesn’t matter whether you have spent it already. That is, if your name comes up as one of the ones who got paid in error. Colorado does not forgive this kind of debt and it seems the government doesn’t care that it was there fault in the first place for making these erroneous payments.

This is all one big mess and now some people are going to have to try to prove that the payments they received were in fact justified. For anyone who got paid and shouldn’t have, they can appeal but right now nothing is being addressed in a timely manner.

So much of our government, both state and national, is plain incompetent. We have a jobs emergency across the country and debt so high that it threatens our whole way of life. But everywhere you turn, government keeps getting in the way and doing stupid things.

Then we have state workers such as these in Colorado who are making millions of dollars in overpayments for unemployment benefits and now the state has to try to collect the money back. Things just keep getting worse and it should be clear by now that more government is NOT the answer.

From that website you will have access to all sorts of links to services that are tailored especially for you. Vets deserve government assistance in many areas of their life for the hard work and dedication they have made for this country. The sacrifices of our veterans are often overlooked and the state of Colorado wants to give them a leg up with regard to getting back to a normal life.

Unemployment Benefits in Mississippi State

While you are on unemployment in Mississippi state, you will have to personally show up for periodic eligibility reviews. There will be a message mailed with your check that says you are scheduled for a review and it is not something you can ignore. If you want to continue to get payments, you need to participate in these reviews which are for the purpose of reducing fraud.

Unemployment Benefits in the State of Montana

Payment for unemployment benefits can be set up for direct deposit or paper checks. Debit cards are NOT available like in some other states. The direct deposit option is the best way and the safest way to receive your money in 2012