1,100 Mainers to lose unemployment benefits
Around 1,100 Mainers are expected to lose extended unemployment benefits as a result of sequestration cuts and an improving job market, according to the Maine Department of Labor.
By the rules of the automatic federal cuts, the state will cut certain benefits because the state's average unemployment rate dropped below 7% in April.
That change, set to take effect July 14, will reduce the duration for which Mainers can claim unemployment benefits from 63 weeks to 46 weeks. The state's traditional benefits system providing 26 weeks of unemployment insurance will be unaffected.
The cuts come as a result of a mandate that the U.S. Department of Labor cut its benefits spending by 10.7% for the government's 2013 fiscal year and recommendations the department gave to states to achieve that savings.
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