With the national unemployment rate at 9.7%, there are now 14.9 million jobless American workers. This is the highest number ever recorded since the 1950s. Some American workers have been collecting unemployment payments for as long as 99 weeks.
This situation was made possible by the multiple extensions of the unemployment insurance program passed by the federal government in attempting to deal with the continuing recession. This is the longest period that American workers have ever collected unemployment payments since the program began. [Read more…]