Group says jobless Nevadans will lose benefits if Congress doesn’t act

By Cy Ryan

Monday, Feb. 15, 2010 | 10:51 a.m.

Up to 20,000 jobless Nevadans could soon lose their benefits if Congress fails to act, a national organization says.

The National Employment Law Project says states will be forced by law to begin notifying jobless workers this week of the end of their weekly checks in March.

Congress is in recess until Feb. 22. And the project said even if Congress voted immediately upon its return to extend benefits, states would have to act and 1.2 million Americans would become ineligible for federal jobless benefits in March.

The law project estimates 6,681 Nevadans will exhaust their benefits without additional extensions by Congress.

The Nevada Employment Security Division was closed Monday for the Presidents Day holiday and representatives could not be reached for comment.

Maurice Emsellem, policy co-director of the National Employment Law Project, said, "State agencies are working more than double time to get this financial lifeline out to unemployed workers, their families, and their communities."

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that provides unemployment checks to the jobless is set to expire and workers will stop getting payments in March.

Nevada's unemployment rate in December climbed to a near-record 13 percent with an estimated 176,000 persons jobless.

Bill Anderson, chief economist for the state's division, is predicting the job market "will likely worsen in the months ahead."