One million could lose jobless benefits in March

The jobless could soon lose their unemployment insurance if Congress doesn't act fast. More than 1 million people could lose their jobless benefits and health insurance subsidy. The Senate will have one week to extend the deadlines to apply for federal unemployment benefits and the COBRA health insurance subsidy, where the current deadline for the jobless to sign up is Feb. 28. With no extension of the benefits, people who currently receive state jobless benefits won't be able to apply for additional federally pain unemployment insurance, and people whom are already receiving these checks could be cut off. While legislation was in place to extend the deadlines to May 31 in the form of $25 billion over 10 years, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has offered a trimmed job creation package that did not include the condition.

As unemployment benefits now run as long as 99 weeks, with an estimated 11.5 million people currently depending on jobless benefits, the average unemployment period lasts a record 30.2 weeks, the jobless will have to be more eager to re-enter the workforce to meet their needs. Many use their unemployment insurance to help pay for their roof over their heads. If a policy or action is taken in the Senate, hundreds of thousands of people will have an earlier than expected expiry date of their unemployment insurance. Hence, if unemployment insurance is not extended, will increase the opportunity cost of being unemployed and increase the urgency of finding work, thus increase "f" or the rate of job findings.