28,100 Minnesotans to Lose Unemployment Insurance Lifeline Unless Congress Acts Before January 1st

As families prepare for the holiday, a new report released by the AFL-CIO shows that, 28,100 Minnesotans will lose their unemployment benefits on December 31st if Congress fails to act to extend unemployment insurance.  

In Minnesota as well as across the country, jobless workers and their communities will be holding prayer vigils on Thursday December 8 to call attention to the ongoing jobs crisis and to urge Congress to take immediate action and extend unemployment benefits.

According to the report, young people and people of color will be disproportionately impacted if benefits are cut.  Here in Minnesota the unemployment rate for young people 20 to 24 years old is 9.5%, for African Americans is 22%, and Latinos 12.3%.

The average benefit provided by the federal extension amounts to $296 a week, which covers a family’s minimum expenses for survival. That money is pumped directly back into the local economy when jobless workers pay for groceries, transportation, utilities, and housing. Currently, 1 in 763 homes in Minnesota face foreclosure and the problem will only worsen if federal unemployment insurance extension is not passed.

“With 1 job opening for about every 5 jobseekers and the continued obstruction of job creating legislation, Republicans in Congress and their special interest friends have placed working families in an impossible situation,” said Steve Hunter, Secretary-Treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO. “If our members of Congress truly prioritize the needs of Minnesotans over tax cuts for the richest 1 percent, they will act now to pass the unemployment insurance benefit extension.”  

To view the full data and stories of unemployed workers in Minnesota visit: http://uistories.aflcio.org/MN