Governor Corzine's Statement on Congressional Approval of the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

TRENTON - Governor Jon S. Corzine today issued the following statement regarding the Congressional vote to approve the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009 which extends unemployment benefits for an additional 14 weeks in every state and by 20 weeks in states with unemployment rates of 8.5 percent or higher. The Governor recently sent a letter to the Congress urging extension of unemployment benefits for those who have or are about to exhaust their unemployment assistance:

"I want to commend the New Jersey delegation, especially Senators Lautenberg and Menendez, for working to provide vital income support for thousands of New Jersey residents who have already or soon will exhaust all of their unemployment benefits," said Governor Corzine. "This action will extend unemployment assistance for an additional 20 weeks for vulnerable New Jerseyans and give them the capacity to continue to support their families in these difficult economic times. My administration remains steadfast in its commitment to implement the tools necessary to provide New Jersey families with a strong economic foundation and the ability to provide a stable and secure future for their children."

New Jersey recently instituted the nation's first statewide effort to provide job creation incentives specifically for workers who are running out of all extended unemployment insurance benefits through the RETURN-to-Work program, which offers "on-the-job" training grants of  up to $2,400 to help employers cover the costs of training newly-hired workers.

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