by Calculated Risk on 12/07/2010 04:03:00 PM

Just to be clear, the "extension of the unemployment benefits" is an extension of the qualifying dates for the various tiers of benefits, and not additional weeks of benefits. There is no additional help for the so-called "99ers".

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) comes in four tiers:
Tier I is for 20 additional weeks;
Tier II is for up to 14 weeks;
Tier III is for up to 13 weeks;
Tier IV is for up to 6 weeks.

As an example, if a worker was receiving Tier I benefits, they will be able to move to Tier II benefits with this proposed extension. Without the extension of the qualifying dates, workers would not be able to move to the next tier.

These two tables are from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. The total number of weeks depends on the state unemployment rate.

In 25 states, workers can qualify for 99 weeks of unemployment:

To repeat: this extension doesn't add additional weeks of benefits; it keeps the above structure in place for an additional 13 months.