Career Counselor: Unemployment Benefit Extension Is Not An Incentive To Stay Home

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- America's unemployment rate now stands at 10.2 percent, the first time that the country's jobless rate has been in double digits in more than 25 years. In response today, President Obama signed into law legislation that extends unemployment benefits for the fourth time in the past 18 months.

Of the roughly 15 million Americans out of work, approximately one-third have been out of a job for at least six months. The extension gives job seekers across the country an extra 14 weeks before they exhaust their benefits. In the hardest-hit states where unemployment is above 8.5 percent, including Ohio, workers will receive an additional six weeks of benefit protection.

Altogether, the extra 20 weeks enables some recipients to collect unemployment benefits for 99 weeks - just five weeks shy of two years -- the longest collection period in history. Unemployment checks generally provide about $300 a week.

Among Columbus residents collecting benefits is Jennifer Tock, who has been in search of work for six months. Tock remains eligible for up to 73 additional weeks of unemployment benefits, but she counts herself among job seekers that are not content sitting on the sidelines.

"I didn't expect to be laid off (after) six months. I thought it was going to be an easy turnaround," Tock said. "We are aggressively looking for jobs. We don't want to be on unemployment. We want those jobs to start rebuilding our unemployment, our 401k plans."

On Friday, Tock practiced her interview skills with career counselors at Jewish Family Services in Columbus in anticipation of an actual job interview next week. Tock said unemployment helps cover her mortgage and gasoline costs for her car, but is not enough to pay her utility bills.

"Older people are saying this is a crisis, we need to find a job," Tock said.

Justin Keaton, a career counselor at Jewish Family Services, says most job seekers struggle to get by on unemployment benefits. The small payment takes most of the incentive away from avoiding work to collect benefits if a higher-paying job is available. The challenge is finding that job.

"Typically unemployment is like 50 percent or less of what a lot of our clients were making," Keaton said. "For some professions, if it's marketing and communication, something along those lines, it may take every bit of 15 months or so to secure a position."

The National Employment Law Project estimates that 600,000 Americans exhausted benefits in September and October.

The benefit extension signed into law Friday will cost about $2.4 billion. Employers will pick up the tab via extended federal taxes.

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