18,000 in city to lose jobless benefits in December

Posted by on November 21, 2010

18,000 in city to lose jobless benefits in December

The Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board has released new data that forecasts a major increase in the number of residents that will lose unemployment benefits in the next few months.

The state’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis estimates that unemployment benefits for 17,991 Philadelphia residents will expire in December.  That figure far outpaces the cumulative total of 11,163 for Philadelphia between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31. It also represents nearly 22 percent of all Pennsylvanians exhausting their benefits in the month.

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt?open=514&objID=552916&mode=2

The sharp increase is attributed to the expiration of emergency unemployment compensation provided by the federal government, primarily for people who lost their jobs during the beginning of the recession.

Many of these individuals have long work experiences and have never been laid off before, making them eligible for the full 99 weeks of unemployment compensation, according to PWIB Interim CEO Eric Nelson.

In addition to the enormous jump in December, the increases will continue through April 2011.  In January, 15,607 residents will lose unemployment compensation, followed by 11,272 in February 2011, 9,104 in March 2011 and 6,936 in April 2011. The numbers also increase in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester counties.

Individuals whose unemployment compensation expires obtain a range of services through the five PA CareerLink centers located throughout Philadelphia. These centers offer a “one-stop” network for individuals seeking employment and/or career advancement, including job search assistance, skill enhancement, occupational skills training, workshops on topics such as resume writing and interviewing, and a range of supportive services.  The PWIB said that staff and other resources are being redeployed for December to handle the expected uptick in demand for CareerLink services.

For more information on CareerLink and other services, go here.

http://www.pwdc.org/for-job-seekers/programs-services

On Monday, November 22nd, at noon, the Philadelphia Unemployment Project will begin a Vigil for the Unemployed at the Arch Street Methodist Church, Broad and Arch Sts. in Philadelphia.  For more information, visit here.

http://www.philaup.org/