October 23, 2009
Contact: Curt Stewart (801) 526-4315
Salt Lake City – On Friday, October 23, 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor notified the Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) that unemployed Utah workers may now be eligible for up to an additional 13 weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). EUC originally became effective in Utah in July 2008 for unemployed workers who have exhausted their regular state unemployment benefits. The expanded program authorizes up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits on top of the original 20 weeks of benefits for a total of up to 33 weeks of additional benefits. The Utah Department of Workforce Services administers the unemployment insurance program in Utah.
The expanded benefits are effective for the benefit week beginning November 8, 2009 and eligible claimants may begin receiving their payments by November 18. Workforce Services is in the process of identifying unemployed Utah workers who may be eligible for the extension and will be sending letters to them by November 9, according to Unemployment Insurance Director Bill Starks. Generally, the new extended weeks of EUC benefits are equal to 50 percent of the total amount received for regular state unemployment benefits, up to 13 weeks.
Utah’s total unemployment rate has now averaged over 6 percent for three months, seasonally adjusted, which “triggered” the extended benefits. Currently over 15,000 unemployed Utah workers have exhausted their original emergency benefits. This federally funded program currently authorizes the expanded benefits from now through December 31, 2009, with a “phase out” period to May 31, 2010; said Starks. “The Department anticipates a very large call volume the week beginning November 8, thus we strongly encourage eligible claimants to use the Internet to file for the extended benefits as their first option,” added Starks.
To get more information or file a claim for EUC benefits on or after November 8, go to the Internet at JOBS.UTAH.GOV or phone the state UI Claims Center. (Salt Lake/South Davis Counties: 801-526-4400; Weber/North Davis Counties: 801-612-0877; Utah County: 801-375-4067; and elsewhere in the state and out-of-state: 888-848-0688)
###DWS###