JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed House Bill 163 into law Wednesday. The bill temporarily provides an additional 20 weeks of assistance to Missourians who have already exhausted 79 weeks of regular and emergency unemployment assistance.

State unemployment officials estimate that approximately 10,000 Missourians will begin to receive this extended assistance immediately. An additional 24,000 could receive extended assistance by Jan. 7, 2012. 

The bill passed the Missouri Senate by a vote of 28-to-5, and in the Missouri House of Representatives by a vote of 138-to-13.

Nixon said that providing immediate assistance to Missouri families in need had to be a top priority for lawmakers.

“Thousands of Missouri families are struggling to make ends meet right now, and it was vital that we provide extended assistance to these families immediately,” Nixon said. 

The federal government will pay for 100 percent of the extended assistance. The Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations estimates that the extension of this assistance will inject approximately $105 million into the state’s economy through the end of calendar year 2011.

Missourians can visit the Missouri Department of Labor’s website, accessible through MO.gov for more information about unemployment assistance.


Information provided by the Office of Missouri Governor