Civil and Human Rights Coalition Urges Senate to Pass Unemployment Extension

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights has sent a letter to U.S. senators urging them to support H.R. 5618, The Restoration of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2010. With extended unemployment benefits having expired in June, some 2.5 million workers have had benefits cut off in the face of high unemployment and a weak job market. H.R. 5618 would extend the filing deadline for extended unemployment insurance benefits through Nov. 30, 2010.

In the letter, Wade Henderson, president and CEO, and Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president, write:

The need for these benefits is great. In May, up to 46 percent of the unemployed had been out of work for more than 27 weeks. But these problems are not affecting all communities equally; there are dramatic disparities by race, age, and single-parent households. As documented by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, while overall unemployment in May was unacceptably high at 9.7 percent, among African Americans the jobless rate was a staggering 15.5 percent, among Latinos 12.4 percent, among households headed by a single mother 11.6 percent, and among youth 26.4 percent. The National Employment Law Project estimates that 2.5 million workers have been cut off jobless benefits since the provisions expired in June, causing states to lose millions per month in stimulus spending.

Recent polling has shown that a large majority of Americans support extending unemployment benefits in the midst of the current economic crisis.