Unemployment benefits cut big time by sequester: Wallets of unemployed hit hard

Examiner – by Roz Zurko
Unemployment benefits took a sizable hit when the sequester federal spending kicked in on July 1. The 11.7 million Americans still unemployed are seeing a cut in their unemployment benefits, with some states feeling it more than others, according to “Fox and Friends” live on Monday, July 8, 2013.
CNBC reports that other business have seen this sequester trickle in, but the unemployed will perhaps feel the first big “jolt” as their wallets are going to be a bit lighter when their benefits are doled out this month.  
Starting in July the average weekly benefit of $289 will fall by $43 a week, which is a good chunk out of weekly income, especially during a time when jobs are still scarce and the labor market has yet to show signs of the strong recovery needed to fix the unemployment problems in the country.
Some states will see more of a hit from the unemployment benefit decrease than others. According to the National Employment Law Project, New Jersey’s 120,100 unemployment insurance recipients will see their average compensation drop 22.2 percent. The Garden State’s average weekly unemployment compensation is $382 this will be reduced by $85, dropping the average benefit in New Jersey to under $300.
New Jersey and Maryland are the two states seeing the steepest decrease in their unemployment compensation, with cuts of 22.2 percent each. Next in line is Montana (19.6 percent), Connecticut (19.2 percent), followed by Arizona and Illinois, both at 16.8 percent.
Then there are the states that have more jobs to go around like Texas, but their is reduction for a typical unemployment benefit is only 10.2 percent. This is less than half of what New Jersey and Maryland will experience. Texas has a 6.5 percent jobless rate, which is well below the national level. The state has 118,500 on unemployment insurance.
Unfortunately for the folks who live in New Jersey and Maryland, their states will take more of a chunk of their unemployment benefits than folks who live in Texas will give up. The amount realized from an unemployment compensation benefit is almost impossible for most families to live on. Cutting this amount is only offering more hardship to the people that are struggling already.