Article

Congress Must Extend Unemployment Insurance

Heather Boushey on why Congress needs to extend unemployment insurance.

Our nation today remains mired in one of the worst labor markets since the Great Depression. There are currently nearly 14.6 million Americans unemployed, with the unemployment rate hovering at or just under 10 percent for nearly a year. At the end of June, nearly half of those unemployed (45.5 percent) — 6.8 million workers — have been out of work and actively seeking a job for at least six months. Currently, there are nearly five workers actively searching for work for every job available, compared to just one and a half job searchers per job opening before the Great Recession began.

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Authors

Heather Boushey

Former Senior Fellow