126,000 New Yorkers to Lose Unemployment Insurance Lifeline Unless Congress Acts Before January 1st

ALBANY, NY (12/06/2011)(readMedia)-- As families prepare for the holiday, a new report released by the AFL-CIO shows that 126,000 New Yorkers will lose their unemployment benefits on December 31st if Congress fails to act to extend unemployment insurance.

"Congress must not let funding for unemployment insurance expire. I have been looking for work for many months now. Our families, friends and neighbors are counting on this safety net. We need a clean vote, not political games," said Ken Newbold, an unemployed electrician from Goshen, NY.

Across the country, jobless workers and their communities will be holding actions on Thursday December 8th to call attention to the ongoing jobs crisis and to urge Congress to take immediate action and extend unemployment benefits. In New York, events will be held in Cortland, Goshen, Syracuse, and Utica.

According to the report, young people and people of color will be disproportionately impacted if benefits are cut. Here in New York the unemployment rate for young people 20 to 24 years old is 13.8%, for African Americans it is 14.5%, and for Latinos it is 11.8%.

The average benefit provided by the federal extension amounts to $296 a week, which covers a family's minimum expenses for survival. That money is pumped directly back into the local economy when jobless workers pay for groceries, transportation, utilities, and housing. Currently, one in 4,892 homes in New York face foreclosure and the problem will only worsen if federal unemployment insurance extension is not passed.

"With one job opening for about every five jobseekers and the continued obstruction of job creating legislation, working families are being placed in an impossible situation," said Denis Hughes, President of the NYS AFL-CIO. "If our representatives truly prioritize the needs of New Yorkers over tax cuts for the richest one percent, they will act now to pass the unemployment insurance benefit extension."

To view the full data and stories of unemployed workers in New York visit: http://uistories.aflcio.org/ny

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