New Developments on Federal Unemployment Extensions
(Updated February 7, 2012)

en Español

02/07/12 10:00 a.m.

Updated: Number of individuals who have run out of benefits is now over 618,000.

Congress and President Obama have reauthorized the federal extensions of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits for two months, sparing an estimated 1.1 million unemployed Californians from losing extension benefits after the New Year.

The stop-gap measure takes UI claimants through the holidays and into the New Year with no interruptions of extended benefits.

This latest federal legislation does not include any additional weeks of benefits, it simply extends the filing deadlines for starting any new tier of the four tiers of federal extension benefits available. It also extends the filing and payment dates for those who are currently collecting benefits on the separate extension known as the FED-ED here in California. The maximum total weeks of benefits claimants may qualify for remains up to 99 weeks. Without this latest legislation, maximum unemployment benefits would have returned to 26 weeks of regular state UI benefits, which is the maximum without extensions.

We are committed to keeping our customers informed of all developments regarding federal extended unemployment benefits that may impact them, and will continue to monitor developments closely. We encourage you to watch for updates on this EDD website and on our EDD Twitter and Facebook pages.

Here are the details on the current status of the unemployment extension benefits program.

Current Benefits Status

Currently, there are more than 1.1 million people certifying for benefits in California. The majority of these customers are collecting on a federal extension claim while the remainder are somewhere in the midst of a regular unemployment claim. A regular claim provides up to 26 weeks of benefits and federal extension benefits provide up to another 73 weeks of benefits, provided by the federal government due to the length and severity of the economic recession. Between regular and federal extension benefits, the EDD has paid a total of $15.3 billion in benefits so far this year (as of November 17, 2011), and is currently paying about $333 million a week. These benefits provide critical sustenance to unemployed workers and their families, in addition to local businesses where much of the benefits are spent on basic needs.

Current UI Extended Benefit Duration & Claim Deadlines

Here is a breakdown of the filing deadlines for federal extension benefits:

* As long as California continues to meet the unemployment rate threshold, it is anticipated that California will continue to be able to file FED-ED extensions through effective date March 4, 2012.

Customers Who Have Run Out of Maximum Benefits

The maximum total of unemployment benefits remains up to 99 weeks of benefits. As of February 6, 2012, there have been more than 618,000 unemployed workers in California who have run out of all available benefits, up to the 99 week maximum.

Unemployed individuals may be eligible for assistance to meet basic needs as well as other services such as health care, counseling, employment and training assistance. For more information, read the Assistance for Unemployed California Residents flyer and the Job Dislocation Brochure: English | Spanish.

For any further developments in the Unemployment Insurance program, as well as all other EDD programs and services, we encourage our customers watch for updates on our Website and on our EDD Twitter and Facebook pages.