July 2, 2008
Contact: Curt Stewart (801) 526-4315
Salt Lake City - President Bush signed an extension to Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Workers who have exhausted their regular state UI benefits will now have up to 13 additional weeks of Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). The Utah Department of Workforce Services administers the UI program in Utah. The extension of unemployment benefits is effective for the benefit week beginning July 6, and eligible claimants may begin receiving their payments by mid July. Workforce Services is in the process of identifying unemployed Utah workers who may be eligible for the extension and will be sending letters to them in the next few days, according to Unemployment Insurance Director Bill Starks. “We are finishing the programming of our systems to begin taking these claims on or after July 15. Claims may be backdated to July 6, the effective date of the program. Generally, the maximum extended weeks of benefits is equal to one half the total amount received for regular UI.” “Utah Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. moved quickly to ensure that claimants in Utah who may have exhausted their benefits would not have to wait to begin receiving these extended benefits,” said Starks. To get more information or file a claim for EUC benefits on or after July 15, go to the Internet at JOBS.UTAH.GOV or phone the state UI Claims Center. (Salt Lake/South Davis Counties: 801-526-4400; Weber/North Davis Counties: 801-612-0877; Utah County: 801-375-4067; and elsewhere in the state and out-of-state: 888-848-0688)
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