Unemployment benefits for more than 60,000 New Yorkers will be ending sooner than expected. The federal extended benefits program ends in June, cutting compensation payments for the jobless early by 14 weeks. That's because the state no longer qualifies for the federal benefit, which requires the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate to be at 8.6%. The state's rate dropped to 8.1 in April.
"As a result of not meeting that criteria and New York State rate decreasing over the past several months, the extended benefits have gone from 93 weeks down to now 79 weeks," says Leo Rosales, a spokesperson of the state Department of Labor. "Some New Yorker’s will see some changes in their benefits this month."
The maximum unemployed payment for New York residents is 405 dollars a week. The average is $295. As of April, 40-thousand in the Greater Rochester Area were without jobs. That equals a 7.7% unemployment rate.