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States reduce jobless checks, adding pressure to unemployed

In this Feb 8, 2016 photo, Demetrius White rests in a chair at a state career center in Jefferson City, Mo. White, who is receiving unemployment benefits, had gone to the center to get information about temporary job agencies. He is among the first group of unemployed workers in Missouri whose maximum benefits were cut from 20 weeks to 13 weeks under a state law that took effect in January. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)
In this Feb 8, 2016 photo, Demetrius White rests in a chair at a state career center in Jefferson City, Mo. White, who is receiving unemployment benefits, had gone to the center to get information about temporary job agencies. He is among the first group of unemployed workers in Missouri whose maximum benefits were cut from 20 weeks to 13 weeks under a state law that took effect in January. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb) In this Feb 8, 2016 photo, Demetrius White rests in a chair at a state career center in Jefferson City, Mo. White, who is receiving unemployment benefits, had gone to the center to get information about temporary job agencies. He is among the first group of unemployed workers in Missouri whose maximum benefits were cut from 20 weeks to 13 weeks under a state law that took effect in January. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

By Associated Press 6 min read

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – When Demetrius White recently lost his job as a $10-an-hour forklift driver loading pallets of shampoo, he applied for unemployment benefits to help support his family.

That aid will not last as long as it once did, because White is among the first group of people affected by a new Missouri law reducing the duration of jobless benefits. His $200-a-week checks will last no more than three months – just half as long as what has typically been available.

“That’s a dramatic change, really,” White said. “Thirteen weeks, I don’t know if I’ll be able to find a job.”

States traditionally have offered up to half a year of aid for the unemployed as they search for new jobs. But since the end of the Great Recession, eight states have reduced the number of weeks that people can draw benefits, while others have cut the amount of money the unemployed can collect.

The cutbacks generally are intended to help shore up unemployment insurance trust funds, which went insolvent in 35 states following the recession that began in 2008. The changes could save hundreds of millions of dollars for businesses that pay unemployment taxes.