83K in Pa. may lose jobless benefits in December

HARRISBURG (AP) — More than 80,000 Pennsylvanians will lose their weekly unemployment benefit if Congress does not extend the federally funded portion that ends Dec. 1.

The state Department of Labor and Industry estimated this week that 83,000 people will lose the average weekly benefit of about $310 in December if the federal portion expires.

For now, the unemployed are eligible for up to 99 weeks of benefits that are capped at $564 a week. But after Nov. 30, only 26 of those weeks remain.

The department says about 166,000 additional people would lose their benefits in the January-through-March period.

The average number of people receiving the weekly benefit in Pennsylvania is dropping, from about 400,000 in June to about 300,000 in October.