DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) -- Iowa Workforce Development says about 20,000 unemployed workers who face the loss of unemployment insurance benefits have qualified for up to 14 weeks of emergency assistance.
The state agency says the group of workers includes about 10,000 Iowans who have already exhausted their benefits.
Iowa Workforce development director Elisabeth Buck says as residents continue to struggle with the affects of the national recession, the additional benefits provide an economic safety net for Iowans in need.
Iowa received notice in September it would receive a 13-week extension because the state unemployment rate was consistently above 6 percent.
Earlier this month Congress agreed to extend unemployment insurance benefits. Iowa officials say with the federal extensions, jobless Iowans could qualify for up to 73 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits.
(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKTVO