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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Marc Gergely |
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House panel approves Gergely's bill to extend
unemployment compensation benefits by seven weeks
HARRISBURG, July 1 – The House Labor Relations Committee today unanimously approved a bill state Rep. Marc Gergely, D-Allegheny, introduced that would help out-of-work Pennsylvanians looking for new employment by extending unemployment compensation payments for an additional seven weeks.
Gergely said his bill, H.B. 1770, would make a temporary change to the Unemployment Compensation Expanded Benefits law so the state could tap nearly $145 million in federal stimulus funding.
"Thousands of hard-working Pennsylvanians are out of work and finding new family-sustaining jobs in this economy is extremely difficult," Gergely said. "By making this temporary change, we can put millions of dollars into the pockets of out-of-work Pennsylvanians, which is then injected into the state's economy.
"Using entirely federal dollars, we can help nearly 57,000 people who are close to losing this safety net to continue paying their mortgage or buying groceries for a few more weeks as they continue looking for work."
According to the Department of Labor and Industry, the state's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.2 percent in May, representing 532,000 Pennsylvanians out of work. The same rate is up 3.1 percent since May 2008.
Currently, Pennsylvania triggers extended benefits when the insured unemployment rate reaches 5 percent, and if it is 20 percent higher than it was during the past two years. Pennsylvania's extended benefits were triggered in February.
The insured unemployment rate is based on the number of people receiving unemployment compensation benefits as a percentage of workers covered by the unemployment compensation law. The total unemployment rate, or TUR, is the percentage of all workers who are unemployed, regardless of whether they are receiving benefits.
Gergely's bill would switch to the TUR as an alternate trigger option, which would allow people to receive unemployment compensation for an additional seven weeks when the TUR reaches 8 percent. Gergely said if his legislation is enacted, eligible unemployed Pennsylvanians could receive a total of 79 weeks of unemployment compensation.
The average weekly unemployment payment in the state is only $305, regardless of family size. This translates to $15,860 per year, a figure that is $6,190 below the federal poverty guideline for a family of four.
Counties with the highest unemployment rates in May:
· Cameron – 18.6 percent
· Elk – 15.4 percent
· Fulton – 13.4 percent
· Huntington, Mercer and Potter – each over 11 percent
· Armstrong, Bedford, Carbon, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Forest, McKean, Mifflin, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Schuylkill and Tioga – each over 10 percent
"It's estimated that every dollar provided in unemployment compensation to Pennsylvania residents will generate $1.44 of activity in the state's economy," Gergely said.
The federal stimulus package removed the requirement for states to provide 50 percent of the cost for extended benefits and allows states basing their extended benefits trigger on the TUR to provide benefits for an additional seven weeks.
Gergely said 29 other states base their extended benefits trigger on the TUR, or are close to enacting legislation to do so.