McClatchy News Services
High unemployment is proving costly to federal and state governments. They paid out $94 billion in unemployment benefits to jobless workers in fiscal 2012. That’s a lot less than the all-time high of $150 billion in 2010, but a lot more than the $33 billion paid out in 2007, as the recession was just starting to kick in. Much of the increased expense came because Congress has approved benefit extensions for the long-term unemployed since the recession. With the extensions, some laid-off workers could receive benefits for up to 99 weeks.
The size of the weekly payout depends on where recipients live. In 2012, benefits ranged from a high of $653 in Massachusetts to a low of $235 in Mississippi.
