Thursday brought news that the unemployment rate in this country is even worse than we thought – jobless claims for last week hit 573,000. There are now 4.4 million people claiming unemployment benefits, the highest number in 26 years.
The benefits are yours. Take them! Benefits carry a stigma that they amount to welfare and we should be ashamed of receiving them, but that’s simply not true. When you draw a paycheck, you and your employer pay into the system for precisely times like these. So if you’re laid off through no fault of your own, you’re owed those benefits.
Check the Department of Labor web sitefor more information about what you may be eligible for if you’ve lost your job.