Vermonters running out of jobless benefits

More than 1,100 Vermont residents will exhaust their unemployment benefits by the end of the month. A report by the National Employment Law Project shows that number of people would run out of benefits by the end of September and more than eighteen-hundred by the end of the year. Vermont provides up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. Once those are exhausted, the federal government offers another 33 weeks of benefits; that has been extended once this year as part of the economic stimulus package. After both are used up, some workers will qualify for another 13 weeks of state unemployment benefits. According to the state, 702 Vermonters have maxed out their federal unemployment benefits so far this year and 319 exhausted all their unemployment benefits, including the final round of state funds.