236K Lose Jobless Benefits

Unemployment benefits abruptly dried up for 236,300 people this weekend, as federal support for the long-term unemployed expired in some of the country's hardest-hit states. Thanks to a law Congress passed in February, long-term benefits are being scaled back from 99 weeks to 79 weeks, the Hill explains. So far, 27 states have been cut, for a total of 409,300 unemployed people, according to the National Employment Law Project

This past weekend's cuts were especially painful, accounting for more than half of that by pulling the rug out from under eight states, including California (11% unemployment), North Carolina (9.7%), Florida (9%), and Illinois (8.8%). "Job openings are not taking the place of these cuts," lamented NELP's executive director. "A growing number of long-term unemployed workers are being left behind." (More unemployment stories.)