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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Cherelle Parker |
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Bill to extend unemployment compensation benefits approved by committee
HARRISBURG, July 2 – The House Labor Relations Committee has unanimously approved a bill co-sponsored by state Rep. Cherelle Parker that would help out-of-work Pennsylvanians looking for new employment by extending unemployment compensation payments for an additional seven weeks.
Parker, who also is a member of the committee -- and the first female Democrat to serve on the committee since at least 1991 -- said the 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.
"Many Pennsylvanians are out of work, and in this difficult economy, they are having trouble finding new jobs. By using the federal money that could be accessed as a result of this bill, we give those people who are about to exhaust their unemployment benefits a lifeline," Parker said.
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.
Philadelphia's unemployment rate in May was more than 10 percent.
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.
The 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. Parker said if this 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.
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.
Parker said 29 other states base their extended benefits trigger on the TUR, or are close to enacting legislation to do so.
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