Unemployment Benefits

Throw a life preserver to drowning men and the last thing you might expect is a lecture from these waterlogged souls about how you're making them dependent on life preservers. But that's exactly how some ungrateful Republican governors have responded to federal stimulus aid. There are flaws in the stimulus program, and we've identified them before. But what seems to annoy South Carolina's Mark Sanford and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal is that a temporary boost in federal funding for programs such as Medicaid could prove addictive.

TIP 20 If you lose your job, file for benefits as soon as possible If you lose your job, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Last month, Maryland's unemployment rate jumped to a 15-year high of 5.8 percent. File for jobless benefits as quickly as possible so that the state can determine your eligibility, says Thomas Wendel, executive director for Maryland's office of unemployment insurance. You can file by phone or online. "If you've been fired, or you quit, or it's a lack of work, we will try to determine whether under the law we could pay benefits or not," Wendel said, noting each case is unique.

Although at a 15-year high, Maryland's December unemployment rate of 5.8 percent remains well below the national average, and considering the severity of the recession, the biggest surprise is how favorable the state's jobless numbers looked until just four months ago. But the Free State is no more immune to national economic trends than any other. Recently announced layoffs suggest things are going to get worse. And other statistics, including tax revenue, have set record drops. Somewhat lost in this reporting, however, is another trend: Cash-strapped employers are forcing workers to go from full-time to part-time employment . Such underemployment has been rising markedly since at least late 2007.

Gov. Martin O'Malley wants to expand unemployment benefits to part-time workers and allow state unions to collect fees from employees not in a bargaining group - two labor items in his legislative package unveiled yesterday. In a session that has the General Assembly grappling with a $2 billion shortfall, few of the governor's two dozen initiatives cost money. Among the proposals are an effort to repeal the death penalty, legislation to prevent the Maryland State Police from spying on peaceful protest groups and a pair of bills to take guns away from people who are the subject of protective orders.

The paper unemployment check will soon be a thing of the past for Maryland residents who file for the insurance benefit starting today. In its place comes plastic. The state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation will issue prepaid debit cards to people seeking unemployment insurance benefits and forgo the use of paper checks for new applicants. Department officials said the switch to plastic will save taxpayers about $400,000 annually in postage, paper, staff time and other processing costs.

The nation's financial picture grew darker yesterday, marked by breathtaking numbers: a quarter-trillion-dollar budget deficit for a single month, a half-million new applications for unemployment benefits and wild swings on Wall Street that briefly pushed the Dow Jones industrial average below 8,000. Wall Street eventually rallied to post its third-best point gain ever, but the volatility of a weak economy remains a concern among investors. Analysts predicted that a steady drumbeat of gloomy statistics would only get worse in coming months as the country endures what could be the worst downturn since the severe 1981-1982 recession.

The race for the White House has become a contest of economic prowess - who has the best plan to ease the nation's financial crisis and help average Americans in distress. The latest proposals from Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain are intended to appease - and woo - voters who fear losing their jobs, homes and life's savings. Both attempt to balance the massive rescue plan in place for Wall Street with a menu of targeted relief for Main Street. There is good and bad in each, but the relief may be marginal and the long-term economic impact dubious.

Unemployment remained at 4 percent last month in Maryland as employers added 4,000 jobs, a gain that came entirely from government agencies. Though some industries added to payrolls in June, employment in the private sector as a whole dropped by 500 jobs from May but rose by 4,500 on the government side, the Labor Department said yesterday. The numbers, which are preliminary, are adjusted in an effort to account for seasonal variations in hiring and layoffs. Nationwide, employers cut 62,000 jobs in June, the sixth straight month of losses as the housing slump and the credit crisis have undermined the economy.

Numbers-- New claims filed for unemployment benefits last week dropped by 10,000 to 302,000, the Labor Department reported.

IMAGINE WALKING into your office, as always, and discovering that your desk has been cleaned out; your department is shuttered and locked; or you have 30 minutes to collect your belongings and leave. Would you be able to cope with unemployment? Companies are hiring - unemployment stood at 5 percent in July, down from more than 6 percent two years ago - but the job market is less than robust. And there's always the risk that your employer will defy statistics: Technology giant Hewlett-Packard Co., for instance, announced last month that it would eliminate about 10 percent of its full-time work force.