What if Congress Fails to Renew Unemployment Insurance?

[Dulcinea]

Millions of hardworking Americans—nearly 2 million in January alone, and over 6 million in 2012—will be cut off from the emergency lifeline of federal unemployment insurance, unless Congress acts to renew the program before it expires December 31st.

Right now, of the 14 million Americans who are unemployed, 46 percent -- more than 6 million -- have been jobless and looking for work for six months or longer. That percentage of long-term unemployed has been 40 percent or higher for nearly two full years. The average duration of unemployment has been more than six months for over two years, and the average job search for an unemployed worker now lasts more than 9 months.

Today, the unemployment rate stands at 9.1 percent and has been above 8.5 percent for more than 31 months. Congress has never cut back on federally-funded unemployment insurance when unemployment was anywhere near this high for this long.

Now is not the time to let these programs lapse or expire. It would be unthinkable for Congress to cut-off this vital lifeline for so many hardworking Americans who are struggling to find work when jobs are so scarce. Allowing unemployment insurance to expire would have devastating consequences for millions of jobless workers and their families -- and it would deal a severe blow to the economy and to communities across the country. Tell Congress to put partisanship aside and take urgent action to renew these critical unemployment insurance programs now.

http://www.unemployedworkers.org/sites/unemployedworkers/index.php