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State-Federal Extended Benefits End June 1St

May 22, 2002
No. 02-29

Labor Advises UI Recipients Extended Jobless Benefits End

Commissioner of Labor Ed Flanagan announced today that because Alaska's insured unemployment rate fell below six percent this month, the Unemployment Insurance State-Federal Extended Benefits (EB) Program ends as of June 1, 2002. However, benefits under the Federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act (TEUC) are still available through the week ending December 28, 2002. The Department of Labor's Employment Security Division, which administers the Unemployment Insurance program, has notified each claimant who has filed for EB of the June 1 ending date and advised them to file for TEUC, if they have not already done so.

Entitlement for the State-Federal EB Program is based on an individual's basic eligibility and provides up to a maximum of 13 additional weeks of benefits during periods of high unemployment. The idea is to pay an extension of regular unemployment insurance when the labor market is depressed and there is not much work.

According to a federal triggering formula, the State-Federal EB Program is authorized when Alaska's insured unemployment rate rises above six percent. Because Alaska's rate just fell below six percent, the State-Federal EB Program ended with the last payable week of June 1, 2002. The formula is based on how many claims are received in a thirteen-week period, which causes the insured unemployment rate to rise or fall. The rate fell because more people are seasonally employed during the summer in Alaska, causing the EB program to trigger off.
 

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