One thing that was not addressed in the debt ceiling deal was any further extensions for unemployment benefits that will end in January of 2012. As it stands right now, anyone who’s 26 weeks of state unemployment benefits runs out after the end of this year (meaning in 2012) will NOT have them extended by the federal government.

It is unclear at this time whether President Obama will introduce legislation that will have those benefits extended. He would have until the end of 2011 to get something passed and that may be difficult with the Republicans only wanting cuts. Any extensions for unemployment would be considered “spending” and that is a dirty word in Washington right now.

If you lose your job by getting laid off, you should immediately go to your state’s website and gather as much information as you can. It is important to apply right away because any time you miss between the end of your job and when you get the application in will NOT be made up to you. So if you procrastinate, those will be days that you will not receive benefits.

Just like anything you apply for with a government office, you will need lots of information in order to correctly fill out your application. Make sure you find out what you need first before filing so that the application process can go smoothly.

To find out where you need to go to get unemployment information, please click the state below where you live:

Alabama Unemployment
Alaska Unemployment
Arizona Unemployment
Arkansas Unemployment
California Unemployment
Colorado Unemployment
Connecticut Unemployment
Delaware Unemployment
Florida Unemployment
Georgia Unemployment
Hawaii Unemployment 
Idaho Unemployment
Illinois Unemployment
Indiana Unemployment 
Iowa Unemployment