Federal EUC benefits have expired and the Congress has not approved an extension of unemployment benefits.

You have lost your job that provided all the financial support. Now what? Obviously this is not the time to doubt in your abilities and feel depressed. Take a step back and use job search links to look for a stable income. But the first thing you need to do is to file for unemployment insurance benefits.

The initial 26 weeks of unemployment benefits just aren’t enough. An extension of unemployment compensation will let the benefits flowing to millions of unemployed workers in the country. This means that the jobless workers should be able to move to the next tier of benefits if they are eligible for extended benefits. So all hope is not lost. You can still keep a roof over your head and food on your table by doing several things.

An extension of benefits allows a continuation of unemployment compensation payments beyond the standard 26 week period. Moreover, it would also help the people who are out of work and finding it difficult to find a new job in an economy in recession.

There are two types of extended unemployment benefits:

•    Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC): Emergency Unemployment Compensation offers an additional number of weeks that depends on the unemployment level in your state.

•    Extended Benefits (EB): Under Extended Benefits, the additional extension of benefits is offered once EUC is exhausted and the time taken to receive the additional benefits depends on the level of unemployment in your state.

Your state should report you about applying for an extension just when your benefits are about to expire. However, it is safe to contact your unemployment office to know about an extension a few weeks before your period of regular benefits is complete. You will be asked to meet the same eligibility standards required for regular benefits in order to qualify for an extension.

Congress voted April 15 2010, the last day for jobless workers to claim for extended unemployment benefits till in June 2 2010, President Barack Obama signed a law. This law restored the federal unemployment benefits to over millions of jobless Americans.

Benefits are divided into tiers and the claimants should file for these benefits whenever they move into a new tier. In total, getting an extension for unemployment benefits makes it possible to receive up to 79 weeks of benefits (26 weeks of traditional benefits + 33 weeks of EUC + 20 weeks of EB) if you live in a state with a high rate of unemployment.

Congress has decided to go on with the federal extended unemployment benefits programs which were set to expire on December 31, 2011 through February 2012. In every tiers of Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), the legislation has extended the availability of benefits for two months.

Your State Unemployment Office website has every detail of when and how benefits will be paid as well as who qualifies for these extended benefits. The only way to avoid unemployment scams is to claim for extended benefits through your state employment office as you are not allowed to apply on third party websites, even if they say they will file for you. Typical unemployment scams include websites that offer to file for extended unemployment benefits or unemployment benefits for you. It’s important to know that you are the only person who can apply online for benefits.

Related Tags : Emergency Unemployment Compensation, extended benefits, state unemployment office, unemployment scams