NYT: US winds down longer benefits for the unemployed

In February, Congress phased in a reduction of the number of weeks of extended aid and made it more difficult for states to qualify for the maximum aid, adding a financial burden to the long-term unemployed.

Yahoo!Finance reports Most of the unemployed no longer receive benefitsEarly last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent -- a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.

By HiddenValueInvestor:In February Congress reached a deal to scale back federal extended unemployment benefits. Although the program was extended until the end of 2012, the number of weeks were cut back from a maximum of 99 weeks and qualifying for the program was made more difficult for the states. According to the National Employment Law Project nearly half a million people lost their extended benefits sooner than expected by the middle of the year.

I’m a believing in more fiscal stimulus. And I’m a believer in more monetary stimulus. I believe that by doing more of both we can substantially reduce the unemployment rate. And I’d like to tell you that by doing enough of both, we can bring the unemployment rate all the way down to pre-crisis levels without sparking problems. But unfortunately, I don’t think that’s the case.

What has changed? From Friday 8 March 2013, parents will be entitled to take up to 18 weeks unpaid parental leave, an increase from the previous entitlement of 13 weeks. What is parental leave and do we have to allow an employee to take it? Eligible employees will be entitled to this increased parental leave, which may be used to cover schooling and childcare problems, attending appointments with children or simply time to spend with the kids!

Long-term unemployed workers in states with persisting high joblessness soon would no longer be able to count on unemployment benefit checks for up to 99 weeks under legislation before Congress.Under this ...

CATHERINE RAMPELL tells the troubling story of the long-term unemployed in America, who often find that even their job applications are unwelcome:A recent review of job vacancy postings on popular sites like Monster.com, CareerBuilder and Craigslist revealed hundreds that said employers would consider (or at least “strongly prefer”) only people currently employed or just recently laid off.

From the preface to Lost Decades, published today (9/19) by W.W. Norton: The United States ...