State helps those who seek Rhode Island job assistance

Posted on December 15, 2013

For those whose benefits are ending in December, the state is helping them by providing advice and Rhode Island job assistance.

The RI Department of Labor and Training confirms that extended unemployment insurance benefits, known as Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC), are scheduled to end on December 28, 2013.

Since 2008, the EUC program has provided federally funded unemployment insurance benefits to claimants who have exhausted their regular unemployment insurance benefits. In Rhode Island, the program currently offers four tiers of benefits totaling a maximum of 47 weeks of payments.

The department urges those job seekers no longer eligible for unemployment insurance benefits to utilize the free job search services of the state’s netWORKri one-stop career centers. These are located in Providence, Wakefield, West Warwick and Woonsocket, and offer a variety of self-service job search technologies as well as staff-assisted workshops and career advising.

Because the issue of extending the EUC program is currently being discussed by members of Congress, the RI Department of Labor and Training is advising current EUC recipients to continue to certify for payments after the program ends and into January. The department will keep these certifications on file, so that staff may begin to pay benefits quickly if the program is extended at the last minute. The EUC program was originally slated to end in December 2012, but was renewed by Congress at the year’s close.

The RI Department of Labor and Training offers employment services, educational services and economic opportunity to both individuals and employers. DLT protects Rhode Island’s workforce by enforcing labor laws, prevailing wage rates and workplace health and safety standards. The department also provides temporary income support to unemployed and temporarily disabled workers.