Unemployment, Unemployment Benefits | featured news

A vote on the package is set for Tuesday, minutes after the swearing-in of a new West Virginia senator gives Democrats the ability to overcome a filibuster.

On the eve of a vote to extend jobless benefits, President Obama urged Republican senators to set aside partisanship and vote for a package that would provide relief to 2.5-million out-of-work Americans.

The unsavory task of explaining why America apparently can't afford to help the unemployed but can afford tax cuts for the rich fell to Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) on Sunday.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs predicted on Tuesday that the Senate will pass an extension of unemployment benefits sometime next week after nearly a month of delays over the size and scope of the package.

"I think this president will press and my belief is the Senate will take up [the package]," said Gibbs, "and we will pass next week an extension of unemployment insurance."

Speaking at the daily briefing, Gibbs hinted that the White House and allied campaign committees will be monitoring the vote closely for electoral implications.

Already grappling with a surge in claims for unemployment insurance, recession-weary state labor departments are also now dealing with increased fraud.

The Senate failed to pass an extension of federal unemployment benefits last night on a vote of 58-41. The Senate's fourth attempt this month to pass an extension of federal unemployment benefits failed a cloture vote last night.

The demise of Democrats' jobs-agenda legislation means that unemployment benefits will phase out for more than 200,000 people a week. Governors who had counted on fresh federal aid will now have to consider more budget cuts, tax increases and layoffs of state workers.

Democratic officials said the House may try to revive the long-stalled jobless aid bill next week as a stand-alone bill shorn of controversial tax and spending provisions that prompted Senate Republicans to filibuster it on Thursday.

Republicans in the Senate have defeated an election-year bill to continue weekly jobless benefits for millions of long-term unemployed workers.

The number of Americans seeking jobless benefits last week unexpectedly rose to a one-month high, indicating firings are staying elevated even as the US economy grows. Some companies are trimming payrolls ...

Unemployed Dutch women are being offered a $1,695 fashion and beauty makeover and free membership of a dating agency to get them off unemployment benefits by finding an employed husband. Single job-seekers will be given a new hairstyle and outfit, and tips from a life coach on how to attract a new partner or a job.

Kudos to the Detroit News for a great story revealing that people are refusing to accept jobs because of government unemployment benefits. None of this should be surprising to people who understand that if you subsidize something, you get more of it.