222,000 Californians facing loss of jobless benefits SACRAMENTO - About 222,000 Californians will be dropped from the state's unemployment insurance rolls Saturday in what is shaping up to be a rough start to 2014 for the nation's long-term jobless. Congress went home for the holidays without approving a federally funded extension of jobless benefits for about 1.3 million Americans who have been out of work six months or longer. And Republicans, who control the House, are showing little inclination to take up the measure when lawmakers return Jan. 7. For unemployed Californians, the cutoff caps a year made more difficult by the state's Employment Development Department, which has been struggling since September with a botched upgrade of its aging computer systems. Payments to tens of thousands of unemployed workers have been delayed, sometimes for months. EDD workers are still processing many claims by hand, reducing the staff available to answer phone calls from frustrated clients. As if those troubles weren't enough, the state's unemployment insurance fund is broke and there's no solid plan to fund it. California owes the federal government $9 billion it borrowed to pay benefits during the recession. So far, politicians in Sacramento haven't reached an agreement on how to repay those funds. Options include raising taxes on employers, cutting benefits to the unemployed or some combination of both. "It's been the most challenging year in decades," said Maurice Emsellem, the co-policy director for the National Employment Law Project in Oakland, which advocates for the poor and working poor. And the irony is that claims are down. Fewer workers are collecting benefits, but [EDD workers] are having a harder time processing claims. People are falling through the cracks and having a harder time than ever getting through to the system. Currently, about 712,000 Californians are receiving unemployment benefits, down from 1.5 million at the peak of the recession. The jobless rate, now at 8.5%, has been falling as the economy picks up steam and California companies add jobs. But California has about 400,000 fewer jobs than it did before the downturn, and times are still tough for many of the state's long-term unemployed. Kaitlyn Smith, 24, of Twentynine Palms will lose her $450-a-week benefit when the federal extension expires this weekend. A Marine Corps veteran and the mother of two young children, Smith says she has been searching for work, but it's hard to come by in the high desert. The family can't move because her husband, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, must remain near the combat center until he's discharged from the Marines in July. The loss of her benefits will cut deeply into the couple's income. Smith said the family is already skimping on basics, including heat, because the EDD has been behind on her payments. "I have to keep the house at 55 degrees even though I have two little girls, ages 21/2 and 11/2," Smith said. She said she has placed hundreds of calls to the EDD in the last few months, reaching an agent only once. Unemployment benefits differ from state to state. In California, the state provides 26 weeks of assistance paid from employer taxes. Maximum weekly benefits are $450 in California, and the average payment is $305 a week. To be eligible, recipients have to regularly show proof that they are seeking employment. After that, the federal government kicks in for the long-term jobless, who recently have been eligible to receive 37 weeks of benefits on top of the initial state help. These are being cut off Saturday. According to the EDD, 28% of the state's unemployed have been out of work for one year or more. Many are older workers, who often have difficulty getting rehired. Robert Rowe, 55, is hoping to buck the odds. The Westlake Village resident has been unemployed since October, when he lost his job as an aerospace welder. He has been looking for work in construction and as a substance abuse counselor, but he hasn't turned up anything so far. Rowe said many employers "consider age, healthcare costs and longevity" when deciding to hire, putting veteran workers such as himself at a disadvantage. Still, he's looking to a strengthening economy to help him land something after the holidays. "It's a little bit rougher," Rowe said. It's not fun, but I'm persevering. Since June 2008, Congress has approved 11 extensions of unemployment benefits. At one point, the combination of state and federal assistance reached a maximum of 99 weeks in California. The federal cutoff could have dire consequences for California's slowly healing economy, Gov. Jerry Brown said this month. It "will have a ripple effect on the broader economy," he warned in a Dec. 12 letter to congressional leaders. The Employment Law Project estimated that the elimination of federal unemployment assistance would remove $4 billion from California's economy next year. Despite pressure from President Obama and top congressional Democrats, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives refused to extend federally funded assistance when it passed a $1-trillion budget bill Dec. 12. The Senate approved the same legislation six days later.