Did 2 million long-term unemployed have their checks cut by 10% on April 1?

[reformist2]

I hadn't heard anything about this, until today...

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SEQUESTER CUTS JOBLESS BENEFITS

The long-term unemployed will see their federal unemployment checks cut by 10%. Meanwhile, some states have also slashed payments to the jobless.

By Karen Datko Mar 5, 2013 12:15PM

Most of us have gotten through the first few days of sequestration without ill effect. But one group will be feeling real pain from the $85 billion in federal budget cuts very soon -- the 2 million Americans who are getting federal unemployment benefits. Their checks will be cut about 10% at the end of March.

It's a real blow to struggling families.

Sherri Summit, who has one kid in college and a 10-year-old at home, has been unemployed for nine months. She gets $368 a week in federal unemployment benefits and is two months' behind on her mortgage payment, she told the Evansville Courier Press in Indiana. "Where do you cut back when you've already cut back? Do you lose your home?" she said.

Former steelworker Richard Crowe, interviewed by Marketplace, will lose 10% of the $764 unemployment check he gets every two weeks. He's been collecting unemployment for nine months. "It isn't enough to begin with, and then you're losing money on top of it. It ain't good," he said.

The National Employment Law Project says 2 million Americans currently receive federal unemployment benefits, which kick in after workers use up state benefits, which in most states is 26 weeks. The federal money can last an extra 47 weeks, depending on a state's jobless rate.


http://money.msn.com/family-money/article.aspx?post=979726c6-044f-4673-85ac-2c1c38caaf98