Thousands of Georgia's Unemployed to Lose Benefits

The Georgia Department of Labor announced Monday that thousands of jobless workers in Georgia receiving federal Extended Unemployment Compensation (EUC) can expect a cut in those beneficts effective March 31.

Sequestration is the reason for the cuts, according to the press release. EUC is a federally funded benefit for long-term unemployed workers who have exhausted regular state unemployment insurance (UI) benefits.

In the Atlanta metro area, which includes Gwinnett County, 8.4 percent are currently unemployed (based on December 2012 data)

GDOL has been instructed by the U.S. Department of Labor to reduce EUC benefits by 10.7 percent beginning March 31. There are reportedly 61,360 recipients of EUC in Georgia. The maximum weekly benefit current is $330 and the average is $260. Regular state-funded unemployment insurance benefits will not be affected.

In addition, the federal government is reducing the labor department’s administrative funding grant, used to pay costs of administration the UIF program by about $3 million. According to the release, while the cuts will negatively impact operations, it is too soon to know to what extent.

The GDOL will notify recipients who will be impacted. Complete information will be available at www.dol.state.ga.us.

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Will the GDOL's announcement affect you or someone you know?