Plan could aid 6,000 Nevadans

Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2003 | 11:01 a.m.

As many as 6,000 jobless Nevadans could benefit in the next five months from the Senate-approved plan to continue offering 13 weeks of federal unemployment benefits to people who have exhausted typical 26-week state benefits.

About 300 unemployed people exhaust their state benefits each week, according to the Nevada Division of Employment Security. Assuming those people did not get jobs, as many as 6,000 additional people could obtain federal benefits between now and May, when the congressional offer expires.

Congress is mulling the renewal of the federal jobless benefit because it expired Dec. 28, so people who exhausted state benefits after that date would not qualify unless Congress approves the extension.

The legislation would not help roughly 1 million Americans who have exhausted both 26 weeks of state aid and 13 weeks of federal aid, and Democrats including Reid and Berkley, lamented that the legislation did not go far enough.

Nevada has 33,000 people drawing state unemployment benefits, compared to 42,000 last year.