Thousands To Lose Jobless Benefits

"I've been out of work for almost a year now, and my unemployment benefits are running out," said Shawn Hagenah, a Duluth carpenter.

"I haven't worked since the second week of January," said Tom Kesti, another carpenter from Duluth. "My benefits ran out about a month ago."

Starting November 15th, the maximum period to receive unemployment checks will be cut to 72 weeks. The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved another 13 week extension. But they left Minnesota out of it, along with 23 other states.

That's because the House bill only includes states with unemployment rates above 8% for three months in a row. Minnesota missed that mark by two tenths of a percent in August.

According to state officials, this change will affect 3,500 unemployment recipients who are in their final seven weeks of benefits. Shawn says it leaves him and his fellow workers without a safety net.

"We have no security," he said. "We don't know when the next check is coming and when the next job is coming."

Here in the Northland, nearly 8,500 people collected jobless benefits in September. Of those, nearly a quarter were getting "extended benefits," meaning they had been collecting for more than the usual 26 weeks. The manufacturing and construction industries have the most workers in this group.

The U.S. Senate is currently considering a 14 week extension that includes all 50 states, but there's no guarantee it will pass before this extension runs out. For now, Shawn and Tom are playing the waiting game.

"Things are supposed to be getting better," said Tom. "There are some jobs starting up, but I hope things get better."