Emergency Unemployment Compensation Updates

News Release

Additional unemployment insurance benefits available

LITTLE ROCK - New legislation signed by President Barack Obama provides additional unemployment insurance benefits.

President Obama signed the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009 into law on Nov. 6. The act provides the following:

• one additional week of Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier II benefits;
• up to 13 weeks of EUC Tier III benefits for states that have a total unemployment rate of 6 percent or higher or an insured unemployment rate of 4 percent or higher; and
• up to six weeks of EUC Tier IV benefits for states that have a total unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher or an insured unemployment rate of 6 percent or higher.

The insured unemployment rate represents the unemployed who are eligible for unemployment insurance benefits and actually file a claim for benefits. The total unemployment rate represents all unemployed individuals whether they are covered by the unemployment insurance program or not, such as the self-employed or independent contractors.

Arkansas currently has a total unemployment rate of 7.1 percent and an insured unemployment rate of 4.7 percent and will trigger onto EUC Tier III but not Tier IV. The first payable week for the additional Tier II and new Tier III benefits will be the week ending Nov. 14.

The Department of Workforce Services will notify by mail all individuals who are potentially eligible for the additional EUC Tier II and Tier III benefits. In most instances, individuals will not have to report to a DWS local office to claim these additional benefits.

The additional benefits and the costs to administer the EUC program are financed by federal funding and will not affect Arkansas' Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.