Jobless Barely Survive on Unemployment Insurance

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Laid-Off Workers Find Unemployment Pay Isn't Hardly Enough to Get By

Regina Rainwater left her home. She cut back on groceries and skimped on medications.

But it hasn't been enough.

"$1,300 a month sounds like a good chunk of money, but once you start deducting the $10 here, the $20 there, it doesn't go very far," said Rainwater, who now lives in Tennessee with a relative.

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Rainwater, who was laid off from an educational publishing company early last year, is among the rapidly growing number of Americans who've relied on unemployment pay to help make ends meet. Today, the government reported that employers shed 598,000 jobs in January -- the largest monthly job loss since 1974 -- while the national unemployment rate jumped to 7.6 percent, its highest level since 1992. Click here for a breakdown of unemployment rates by sex and race.

Unemployment Nation: 598,000 Jobs Lost in January

Last week, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment claims jumped to 626,000, a 26-year high, bringing the total number of Americans receiving unemployment insurance to nearly 4.8 million.

Legislators are working through the government's proposed stimulus package to expand unemployment benefits, including an additional $25 a week in unemployment pay, 20- to 33-week extensions in unemployment compensation, suspending some taxes for unemployed workers and health care subsidies for those receiving COBRA, insurance provided by former employers.

States overwhelmed by demands for unemployment insurance are set to receive $7 billion in additional funding to cover more unemployment claims and $500 million for administrative costs. Seven states have already depleted their unemployment insurance funds and 11 more may follow, according to a report today in the Wall Street Journal. (Levels and length for unemployment compensation vary from state to state. For more information on benefits in your state, find your state's unemployment Web site here.)

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