[edited from content on CLASP] The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 (introduced Dec. 12, 2011) reduces the period of time jobless workers can receive federal unemployment benefits by as many as 40 weeks in 2012. Current law provides federal benefits for up to 99 weeks, depending on the pervasiveness of unemployment in the state. This bill would reduce this to a maximum of 59 weeks in hardest hit states. Unemployment has been above 8 percent since April 2009, and the percent (43 percent in November 2011) of unemployed workers who have been without a job for six months or more has remained at record levels for 31 months.
The bill also includes provisions that would reduce access to those who receive unemployment insurance. It denies unemployment insurance benefits to those without a high school diploma or GED if they can't demonstrate they are enrolled in a program leading to a credential. Workers with less than a high school diploma are unemployed at significantly higher rates than workers with a bachelor's degree (13.2 percent v. 4.4 percent).
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