Jan. 9, 2009 – The Unemployment Compensation Act, Public Law 110-449, enacted on Nov. 21, 2008, which expanded the EUC08 program by a maximum of seven weeks also provided for a second tier of extended benefits for qualified unemployed workers in areas of high unemployment, according to a press release from the V.I. Department of Labor.
Based on the most recent unemployment data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Dec. 19, the Virgin Islands' seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate of 6.7 percent for the three-month period ending November 2008 has met the criterion for a high unemployment period.
As a result, a second tier of benefits of a maximum of 13 weeks is available for eligible unemployed workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment insurance benefits and their EUC08 expanded benefits beginning with the week of unemployment that began Jan. 4, 2009.
If there are any questions regarding this information, contact the Division of Unemployment Insurance on St. Croix at 773-1440 or on St. Thomas at 776-3700 for assistance.
