President Obama this afternoon signed into law the package deal on unemployment extensions and tax cuts he struck with Republicans ten days ago.
The new law does not provide anything for the millions of Americans who have exhausted all available benefits or for those additional millions who will do so within the next weeks and months.
State labor authorities across the country geared up to start sending out checks to those who are eligible.
In New York, those who have had benefits held up pending the new law will receive checks by Thursday, December 23, the state said. But not every state will act so quickly.
Those who have exhausted all available benefits, known as 99ers, are not celebrating the new law.
Over the past two years, long-term joblessness has hit every age group and every field of expertise. The long-term unemployed are being advised to retrain. Yet that could be futile, as there don't appear to be jobs available in any field.
For example, many people think that there is still demand for workers with a background in medicine, especially nursing. The following is part of an e-mail received from Kerry, an unemployed RN in Illinois.
"I have had no UI benefits since Aug 23, 2010. I am an RN (Registered Nurse) in the State of Illinois, and recently received my certificate to become a Medical Transcriptionist. I now have 2 degrees. I have been applying for jobs since Sept of 2008, when I lost my job, and still nothing. I am not discouraged yet, but when I hear someone say that we “99ers” are not even looking for a job, I am here to let you know that this simply is untrue. I have sent out hundreds of resumes, for both RN and Medical Transcription. There is a total LACK of JOBS, and this is the problem. Also, I believe my age has something to do with it; I am close to 50-years-old. I am not certain if potential employers are discriminating due to age, but I am certainly starting to wonder ... I cry when I think about Christmas … I have not put up any decorations for the family because I am waiting for my landlord to come knocking again, and say “You have been evicted!” I am fortunate to still have my little apartment for myself and family ... but I also wonder for how long ... I am currently 4 months behind in the rent. My savings are GONE, and I will be put out on the street by January 1st, 2011 ... I don’t want to keep on with the bad part of being unemployed. I just need a little help to get through until I get my next job. I hope it will be any day now! I need to do something constructive with my time. I am still a useful American citizen, with a lot of good years still left in me. I have worked and paid taxes in this country for over 35 years. I need to reassure my daughter that we will not be evicted! I am not sure what exactly has happened to the job market, or why it is in such bad shape, but I hope and pray everyday things turn around – for all of us!!! Please do something now. Please ... Thanks again Naomi, I am not going to give up looking for my next job. During my search however, we are facing homelessness and it is very real and scary to me. Again, thank you for all of your kind words and support. I hope we can get through to our government. We are not USELESS people, we just want a JOB."
Read Naomi's article on The New Lost Generation in The Guardian HERE.
NOTE TO UNEMPLOYED READERS: PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND STORIES OF YOUR JOB SEARCH TO: NaomiCohn@gmail.com. Thank you.
ALSO, TO REMAIN UPDATED ON THE LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENTS, CLICK ON THE "SUBSCRIBE" BUTTON ABOVE. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO NAOMI'S NEW YORK UNEMPLOYMENT PAGE, YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NATIONAL PAGE SEPARATELY SHOULD YOU WISH TO BE NOTIFIED OF THE NATIONAL STORIES.
ALSO, TO REMAIN UPDATED ON THE LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENTS, CLICK ON THE "SUBSCRIBE" BUTTON ABOVE. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY SUBSCRIBED TO NAOMI'S NEW YORK UNEMPLOYMENT PAGE, YOU MUST SUBSCRIBE TO THIS NATIONAL PAGE SEPARATELY SHOULD YOU WISH TO BE NOTIFIED OF THE NATIONAL STORIES.
Comments
Spam never is good.
Like Nike says..... "Just Do It"
If not now then you would eventually anyway. Why put everyone in suspense.
Welcome to the New America. The term Middle Class will eventually become the Undereclass. They will consist of the victims of the deliberate financial genocide brought on by our govenment to create a low wage worker to enhance the rich business owners, some who used their tax cut to finance the low paying workplaces to "create" jobs. Unemployment will drop, but not as low as the standard of living for the masses. The gap between rich and poor will swell until our country will begin to look like China. To some of you this may seem like a futuristic fiction novel, As 99er, I never hd any faith in fairness from our legislators. Most of them are rotten with power....and all it takes is most of them to pass bill. We are living in a stacked deck. So the next step is up to us to prevail, since windows cannot be installed for those with heads up their ass. Lets get real and express our rage in a manner befitting our dignity, an get those reps to understand that although we may not have the money....WE HAVETHE NUMBERS.
I work in medical and i know for a fact there are jobs out there. Especially in home health. and especially for an RN.
But.... you are going to have to move to where the jobs are. maybe even to another state. I know it sucks but thats just the way it is.
I feel your pain sister.
good luck to all.
Move to where the jobs are? You are an IDIOT and would hate for you to be a nurse on my watch!!! Every state is having the same problem and have you been living under a rock? Thought that you were a RN....SAD TO SAY!!!!
I am out of work and will have to move to find a job in aerospace. For the nurse, look up Yuma, AZ. I live there and the paper is packed full of RN jobs.
this is why he's a one term president. can't do anything. all talk. they will figure it out when the majority of the unemployed are 99'ers. then the lightbulb will go on. ALL POLITICIANS SHOULD BE MOVED OUT OF D.C. get new people in there who will actually DO SOMETHING. this country is headed down the tubes and fast
Alright Naomi, enough with articles addressing 99ers and 99er issues. We lost out, the parties OVVAA, let it go, we're heading further and further towards disaster and we don't need to read your crap anymore. Write about the rich and how they will spend there extra money on.
I am not super rich, but wealthy enough to hire you and your spouse as my domestic servants. You want to work.....we can always use desperate down and outers like you who are convinced they lost out. I dont care how educated you are, or over qualfied as long as you can clean up after me. You like to hear this to convince yourself what a loser your are, and always will be. Most of the 99ers are like me, except have a challenge they will ultimately overcome, and get back to the way it was . Why...because they have character, a work ethci, and havent thrown their pride down the toilet like you.
i am a 99er as well and i to have e-mailed faxed made calls for hundreds of jobs no one even bothers to contact me back i am backed up on my rent i have turn off notice from con ed i have no funds to buy any food and christmas or new year not even in mind just another day for me to survive i am suffering with depression and i am loosing my husband in the process so i thank you Washington for all these gifts i really wish all the people that were against the tier5 choke on christmas and new year
If 99ers want to continue to get money from the government, Wouldn't that be called welfare?
Even "insurance" has its limits and the limits were clear the first time you called to apply for benefits. It states clearly you are eligible
for 99 weeks no more. Thats why it seems the government is ignoring 99ers, because your NOT ELIGIBLE for any more. Now go to taco bell andd get a job
I am not a 99 but restaurants will not hire most of them or us on unemployment because we are overqualified.. I worked in human Resources and they are going to pick someone not in school with an open schedule that won't leave once the economy comes up or that aren't more qualified than the manager bec they fear of loosing their job to the new qualified person
Rob....you are a man with a mission. You need to learn how to be offensive. What you say is juvenile heckling, like so many others that come on this blog. Be original. You are a joke! But I will agree with you....a tier 5 would be a form of much need welfare. Look up the definition of welfare. It is intended to help the needy. 99ers are needy folks who became victims of the greedy (that rhymes).
Rob. You are a moron and an insensitive a--. I hope you find yourself in our position sometime so maybe you will understand that bad things can happen to good people, or even insensitive dipsh-ts like you.. We didn't ask for our own government to put us in recession, nor do we ask for anything we don't need - I paid into these systems for 30 years you moron.. to get more than 2 years of help is not asking too much in my opinion.. Then again, I suppose you are a republican, so you are most likely completely clueless... keep your stupid comments to yourself...
Rob is a punk that has relatives that are married to one another and this is the only way to get his venting out bcuz he is clearly disgruntle!!!Don't waste ur time with him ppl and if he responds thenI rest my case Lol!!!
HA HA HA Pot calling the kettle black So you can post to vent frustrations but if I do then I'm less than you?
It's your special type of ignorance that is shared by everyone whining about handouts
Agreed. They kept expecting it to continue. After the first extension they could have got a job that paid the bills, but they sat back with extension and extension. Now when I review resumes and see a 2 year gap since they worked I will not hire them because to me they expected to sit on their arse and get paid. Well good luck, I don't want lazy people in my office.
Well I hope you don't lose your job that you spent years working to obtain through education and hard work and eventually have to settle for Taco Bell, Jerk
I did lose my job that I worked at for years!
Then I retrained in an in demand field (wind energy) and since Obamas handing me money, I'm gonna sit here drink beer and play xbox and work on some of my project cars.
Then when im tired of being lazy I'll go to work. Because my work history and references got me a standing job offer. Bon't hate because I'm not ashamed to say i'm taking the lazy way out just like yall
Wind energy? You certainly do seem accomplished in this area. Lots of wind.
My moms dead, her house went to her sister, my aunt, the house is in the deep south so no basement. and i'm using a busted laptop that me mother in law gave us.
I agree with u rob
I have been unemployed since January and was ironically the employment counselor for a college. I had 95% job placement and knew everyone in the city. When employment started going down things started happening and I lost my job. My former college students still call and email me to help them with job finds. The companies that i used to get my students jobs are now closed or not hiring. The hiring managers always say, "well it's not that bad or it's not affecting us" just to keep pretenses
I decided to write here as much as possible. This amount from here only pays electric and internet for me.
My son started college- thank goodness a salutatorian and received a full ride. I send him money for food and that's it. He works on campus and that's his spending money.
Pres and all the Politians:
WHY YOU JUST DON'T KILL THE FAMILIES OF THE 99ER'S, THAT'S BIGGEST FAVOR YOU PEOPLE CAN DO FOR US.
I have 3 master's, 1 bachelor and a teaching certification. I substitute teach as much as possible. If you have an associate's degree in KY and bachelor's in other's they will let you sub on an emergency certification for anywhere $40-$90 a day. But that's not every day. They don't have to pay benefits or full time pay and many schools are having subs actually teach for a month or two then switches to a new sub. This really hurts the kids but saves them lots of money.
I also plan events. I have a certification in book reviews, event planning, and wedding planning so I try to use that. Lots of time I do social media promotion in exchange for gift cards or services that help pay bills- groceries, etc
I am on the full amount of unemployment but turn in everything that I make so I am capped at the most I can make no matter what I do. But I am hoping that one of these favors, side jobs something will turn into a real job.
It is hard and very discouraging. I saw ahead and sold my house about 1 1/2 ago and my parents thought that I gave away my only security but the little bit I made off of it helped me pay bills up to where I don't owe anything but basic bills... I am always scared and am in better shape than most on here.
It's rough out there and people on here are yelling and calling each other names..none of us can understand the others place..it's all hard.
But, I was just wonder when my year is up - in a few weeks... am I out of luck with benefits?
“President Obamas lie is going to cause people to go out and spend money for food and Christmas because people will believe that they have an unemployment extension coming. He just helped the retail sector and the stock market with his lie"
@ Abaratarr, in reply to your statement found on the opencongress.com website = I believe that you are 100% correct, however lets think about it you and I]are above the highest in IQ in regards to ‘decision’ making and ‘figuring’ out who is trying to pull one over on us!
[was and where; are more the naive gullible type; at any rate]
With that being said; Don’t you agree that if it were one of us as president or his advisor ; Don’t you think you would have done the same thing and made the same business decision?
PRO's & CON's stemming from Obamas decision:
Positives outcome benefiting Obama
;1)"He just helped the retail sector and the stock market with his lie"
[stock market should plum mish during the holidays instead of crash]
2)More than 80% of America is proud of him for helping the unemployed.
Trust me CHANNEL 7 will not broadcast the real fact that he never really helped.[this should somehow add to Obamas - Approval margin come elections]
3) He accomplished all this and did not waste money on 99ers. Saving billions +
4) He is now going to be loved by the Republicans for fooling the 99ers and making the FILTHY RICH even richer. The Repubs will gain more respect for him and start inviting him to ALL of their parties = much better rap ore with entire cabinet-the Repubs will glorify him behind the scenes cause he really only helped them!
Cons/negative;
1) He upset 1% of Americans/99ers; who voted his friends out of office as he sees it. He may lose a few votes; however he figures 99ers/or anybody that can’t find a job in 2 years is a lost cause anyways and is better off homeless and/or dead. (He cant see it as a loss at all, and he might actually be right)
I have been out of work since 11/08. I have 20 years in my field and was in management. I have sent hundreds of resumes, as well as applications for any job in my field. I was IT Director, and have sent resumes and applications for everything from IT Management, desktop support, help desk, lawn care, office manager, etc..
Basically, any job I think I may have a chance at, I have applied or sent resumes. I have contacts in several states, and excellent references. My contacts are mostly recruiters, and they are unable to find me anything so far. I will relocate anywhere to get back to work. I can honestly say I am doing everything to get work, and so far, to no avail.
If Obama truly leaves us 99ers without benefits, I will certainly not vote for him again - yest, I voted for him in 08... Just because we have been out longer does not mean we should be ignored. I have worked and payed into these systems for 30 years.
Tax cuts are given to the rich while honest people are losing everything and cannot even get help from their own government??
Mr. President.. Can we get help? NO,. WE CAN'T??????
Hey Bugsy....you express yourself well, and can see through the smoke screen. The power rotten reps are part of a conspiracy to create a new underclass who will eventually work low paying jobs, but owe their soul to the company store. No way will 99es get credit cards again for a long time after the collection phone calls stop. Its not over yet though, so dont throw in the towel, but if a tier 5 ever comes, it will be when the 99ers numbers are so huge their will be no way to brush them under the rig.
I am on unemployment so I know how hard people look for a job after the first few months of getting handouts. Let me give you a hint its not the 20 resumes a day that people claim to be doing after 2 years! So I don't feel bad for whiny 99ers! If I really wanted to work I could start next week because I retrained I a field that is in demand!
Now I bought an xbox a big tv and internet so I can play with the rest of unemployed America.
WTF, you're collecting unemployment by choice instead of working and bought an X box ... you are a lazy piece of crap.... who the hell are you to collect UI and using that money to live on so you can trash around on the internet???
Rob, you don't hide yourself very well. People like you - living for free out of mommy's basement, are one and the same. All feeling a complete sense of worthlessness, wishing they too qualified for those 99 weeks of unemployment, but because they never worked a day in their miserable, worthless lives, don't. So there you are, playing on the internet with mommy's computer, feeling very badly about yourself and you get this brilliant idea - so you post a bunch of childish, insensitive crap in hopes of making others feel as bad about themselves, as you feel about yourself. Guess what, it didn't work.
But, none the less, it was a nice try. Next time, though, understand that this sort of thing only works on the playground of elementary school.
Rob You F****** s bag. Its about time u got an xbox thing is old as hell u suck
Throw a measly $250 to the elderly on Social Security who havent had a cost of living increase going on for 2 years, because according to the government there hasnt been inflation. Grocery and gas prices have skyrocketed as most of us know. Even the cat and dog food , along with Ramen noodles...the staple of the poor has gone up. How do I know...I'm a 99er thrown off the cliff into the abyss of poverty. I have forgotten what it was like to be a middle class person. Did we have fun once upon a time. Somebody tell me...what is fun? MacDonalds, the movies, BBQ with neigbors(theyre all gone), going to the mall...it seems to long ago. It is a shame to be old and poor in a country who has no fellings.
Unemployment is INSURANCE
Would you drive a $30,000 car and when you wreck it demand a $100,000 check cause thats what I'm hearing!
Wanting the government to hand out everything is another from of government that's not the Republic we live in.
@Rob Go away you miserable troll... What do you get out of bad mouthing people that are hurting and desperate, you are the WORST kind of person there is. Someday you too may find yourself halfway underwater with a foot on your head instead of a helping hand.
I wrote the POTUS today at the White House asking why he didn't help us 99ers. I haven't received a reply yet but I think everyone here should do the same.
Thank goodness! Finally it's over. Now stop the whining and complaining about getting 4 extensions over the regular unemployment timeline. How many times did you think they were going to extend it? Whenever it was ended there would be complaining and begging for more benefits.
And if you post about working for 20+ years and you have nothing, you should have saved instead of living the life that has got you to this point. Please don't say you saved and didn't spend because if you had you wouldn't be crying about losing unemployment benefits AFTER 2 years.
Now either work at a job that is "beneath" you, go on welfare because you gave up, or become homeless. Whatever it is, please move out of the way of productive workers of America, we have enough problems than dealing with whiners.
+1
.@Tazz Go away you miserable troll... What do you get out of bad mouthing people that are hurting and desperate, you are the WORST kind of person there is. Someday you too may find yourself halfway underwater with a foot on your head instead of a helping hand.
also you should have a basic understanding of what is actually happenning to your neighbors and countrymen befor you spew ignorant inflamitory garbage.
Dean I love your copy and paste. I guess you can't have more than one thought a day, huh?
You know what shows you even most of the 99ers don't have any ambition?
"Millions" of people are 99ers and they keep saying they cannot find a single job, yet they had no drive to even get a mass petition, walk, picket, march etc on Washington DC to show their numbers. NOTHING.
Then they wonder why Washington doesn't care about them and their needs.
I have exhausted my UI benefits and have searched and begged for any and every job available to no avail. I am a Veteran/Father/”Productive worker of America” who has no job by no fault of my own. I did have savings, if not I wouldn’t have made it this far UI only paid me $250 a week, that’s NOT enough to pay the bills but it helped me make it along with my savings and small odd jobs I could find here and there. You are either a JERK just trying to stir up hard feelings or you are a very ignorant hardhearted person. Either way I pity you the day you find yourself on hard times and you are belittled and harassed. and the coy and paste not only shows i have skills but shows i know how to save time by redirecting the same sentiment at a diferent ignorant jerk in a simple and convieniant way
You only get 250 a week? that means you had a low paying job to start I'm on tier 2 and still get 436 a week!
My job before was a low paying job at 16 an hour
To an employer it shows that you are lazy and take the easy way out.
If you werent a 13 year old troll and had ever actually had a job you would know that employers WANT you to have skills and know how to do things quickly and save time. i am so done with your TROLL ass
I guess your only way to insult someone is to call them young and ignorant. I guess since you are middle aged and no longer part of the work force and your phone isn't ringing because of it, I guess I would be quick to call someone 13.
Someone 13 years old is someone that is a threat to you, since they are more tech savvy and knows the ins and outs of more things that are needed today in the work force.
I have hired and fired many people in my office. The first to go? Ignorant know it alls. When they are let go the moral goes up and so does productivity.
The real hard truth is the jobs that are lost are not coming back. Whatever you did before, chances are extremely high that you will not work in that field at that pay again. Period. It's over. Done. Finished.
M.o.v.e. O.n.
It seems to me yall just want a shoulder to cry on! your sitting at home whining on the internet about how you cant find a job, I bet if you put as much time into looking for a job as you do threatening to break my jaw you might find something.
You put an awful lot of time insulting people on the internet, so if you just put in half the effort to doing something more productive or financially rewarding in your spare time, instead of being an internet troll, you might be a multi- millionaire by now or at least a happier person.
Yippe!!!
13 more months of unemployment.
Get me a beer honey and crank down the arm on my "Lazy Boy"
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