Obama to outline steps to help unemployed pursue education while keeping jobless benefits

October 8th, 2009 Senate Democrats agree to extend jobless benefitsWASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said Thursday they have reached a deal to extend unemployment insurance benefits to the nearly 2 million jobless workers across the country who are in danger of running out of assistance by the end of the year. The agreement would give an additional 14 weeks of benefits to jobless workers in all 50 states.

October 8th, 2009 Senate Democrats reach deal on extending benefitsWASHINGTON — Senate Democrats said Thursday they have reached a deal to extend unemployment insurance benefits to the nearly 2 million jobless workers across the country who are in danger of running out of assistance by the end of the year. The agreement would give an additional 14 weeks of benefits to jobless workers in all 50 states.

October 1st, 2009 Jobless benefits extension hits snag in SenateWASHINGTON — A House-passed bill to give another 13 weeks of unemployment benefits to people from states where the jobless rate is at least 8.5 percent has bogged down in the Senate because of resistance from lawmakers whose states have lower unemployment and would be left out. With hundreds of thousands having already lost their benefits or about to lose them in the coming weeks, Senate leaders were scrambling to come up with a compromise.

September 23rd, 2009 House bill adds to jobless benefits in 27 statesWASHINGTON — With no end in sight to the country's job market woes, the House has agreed to give the jobless in a majority of states another 13 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits. The bill, which passed the House 331-83 , approves the extra three months of benefits for those jobless living in 27 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with unemployment rates topping 8.5 percent.

September 23rd, 2009 La. unemployment taxes to rise, benefits to dropBATON ROUGE, La. — A rise in the ranks of Louisiana's unemployed will force business taxes to increase and state benefits for jobless workers to shrink next year, moves designed to keep the state's unemployment trust fund from being drained.

September 22nd, 2009 House votes to extend jobless benefitsWASHINGTON — Jobless workers in imminent danger of losing their unemployment benefits would get a 13-week reprieve under legislation approved by the House on Tuesday. The House bill, which applies to 27 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or higher, would add to the already-record levels of benefits that have been available to the jobless as the country struggles to recover from its prolonged economic malaise.

September 22nd, 2009 House to vote to extend jobless benefitsWASHINGTON — The jobless in those states hardest hit by the recession would get some short-term federal relief under House legislation extending unemployment benefits, already at record levels, for 13 weeks. The bill, if enacted into law, would offer a reprieve to more than 300,000 jobless workers who are slated to run out of unemployment compensation at the end of September and the more than 1 million expected to exhaust their benefits by the end of the year.

September 3rd, 2009 Summary Box: Jobless claims dip less than expectedJOBLESS CLAIMS ELEVATED: The Labor Department said the number of laid-off workers applying for benefits dipped to 570,000 from an upwardly revised 574,000 the previous week. The number of Americans continuing to receive benefits rose unexpectedly to 6.23 million.

September 2nd, 2009 Mo. projected to borrow $2.7B for jobless benefitsJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri may have to borrow more than $2.7 billion from the federal government to pay unemployment benefits over the next five years.

July 17th, 2009 Jobless benefits Web site adds insult to injuryRIO DE JANEIRO — It's a shameless thing to do in an economic crisis. Jobless people seeking information about their benefits on the Brazilian Labor Ministry's Web were forced to type in passwords such as "bum" and "shameless." Labor Minister Carlos Lupi is apologizing for the situation — and he blames a private company that created the site's security system.

May 9th, 2009 Obama aims to refocus unemployment systemWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama wants unemployment insurance to become a stepping stone for future work by making it easier to enroll in school or job training. Whether he succeeds will depend on the willingness of states and colleges to change the rules.

May 9th, 2009 Obama asks states to broaden help for unemployedWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is asking states and colleges to help the jobless pursue education and training without having to give up their unemployment benefits. Currently, people who are out of work and want to go back to school have to give up their monthly unemployment check.

May 8th, 2009 Obama: Encouraging signs, but too many out of workWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said Friday there have been "somewhat encouraging" improvements in the country's stricken labor markets, but the rate of joblessness is "still a sobering toll." The president spoke shortly after the government reported that the jobless rate rose to 8.9 percent in April, although the pace of layoffs slowed to 539,000 from well over 600,000 the previous month. He also announced a new plan to permit jobless people to return to college without losing their unemployment benefits.

April 23rd, 2009 Labor Department urges lower unemployment feesThe U.S. Department of Labor will launch a national education program to help jobless workers avoid fees while collecting unemployment benefits through bank-issued debit cards.

March 17th, 2009 SURAT - Two diamond industry associations in Gujarat Tuesday came forward with Rs.10-million (Rs.1 crore) education assistance for the children of jobless diamond workers in the state. The Surat Diamond Association (SDA) said it would spend Rs.7.5 million for nearly 16,500 students in 140 schools in Surat.