by Calculated Risk on 8/15/2009 06:50:00 PM

From Jack Katzanek at the Press-Enterprise: Time -- and benefits -- running out for Inland jobless (ht Rob Dawg)

... According to the state Employment Development Department, the number of Inland residents whose benefits already have been exhausted is negligible. Only 121 people -- 67 in San Bernardino County and 54 in Riverside County -- were in that situation at the end of July.

But the number of people facing that predicament could grow exponentially in the coming weeks.

In Riverside County, it is estimated that 12,000 people risk losing their benefits before the end of the year, and 10,500 more in San Bernardino County.
...
A bill to extend unemployment benefits for 13 weeks was introduced in Congress July 30 by Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash. It would apply to about 20 states with unemployment rates higher than 9 percent.
...
[Mike DeCesare, McDermott's spokesman's] research indicates that more than 200,000 people will lose their benefits each month starting in September.
emphasis added

The Inland Empire could go from 121 workers having exhausted their benefits now to over 21,000 by the end of the year. Ouch.

The National Employment Law Project estimates that half a million workers will have exhausted their extended benefits by the end of September, and a total of 1.5 million by the end of the year. These numbers are about to increase sharply.