Unemployment Benefits | featured news

Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the third drop in the past four weeks and a sign that the job market is slowly improving.

New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week and the four-week moving average hovered at two-year lows, according to a government report on Thursday that revived hopes a labor market recovery was under way.

Senior lawmakers said on Sunday they were optimistic about striking a deal to extend Bush-era tax cuts for all taxpayers and continue emergency jobless aid for millions of long-term unemployed Americans.

Extended unemployment benefits for nearly 2 million Americans begin to run out Wednesday, cutting off a steady stream of income and guaranteeing a dismal holiday season for people already struggling with bills they cannot pay.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week to the lowest level since July 2008, a hopeful sign that improvement in the job market is accelerating.

Republicans in the House have blocked a bill that would have extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed beyond the holiday season.

With one in every eight workers unemployed and empty state coffers,
California is borrowing billions of dollars from the federal government
to pay unemployment insurance.

The state is borrowing $40 million a day from the federal government to provide assistance to jobless workers, but has resisted changing the formulas it uses to determine and fund those benefits.California's fund for paying unemployment insurance is broke.

New claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a three-month low, hinting at some improvement in the listless labor market.

Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, but the drop wasn't enough to reverse a big increase the previous week.