Fourteen more weeks of aid for unemployed Minnesotans

Recently approved federal legislation extending jobless benefits means up to 14 more weeks of aid available for those still unemployed, the state labor department said today.

Some unemployed workers will be eligible for up to 86 weeks of benefits in Minnesota when combined with earlier compensation extensions, the department said. The maximum weekly benefit in Minnesota is $585. Check the state's unemployment insurance site for more information.

State officials say about 175,000 unemployed workers are currently requesting benefits in Minnesota weekly, with about 10,000 immediately affected by the federal extension. That includes sources in MPR's Public Insight Network still struggling in this recession.

"I have been unemployed since June 2009 and my unemployment will be running out in December," Sallie Malmstrom, a mechanical drafter from Eden Prairie, told us just a couple days ago.

"Extensions are no guarantee there will be money," said Malmstrom, who described her economic outlook as bleak. "There are very few jobs to even apply to."

If your jobless benefits were about to run out, drop me a line and share a story about where you are in this economy and what the road ahead looks like.

Click on the map icons below to read what Minnesotans in our Network have been telling us about the jobs climate around them. Share your story.

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