The state of New Jersey has been hit quite hard by the current economic downtown and state unemployment levels have been rising. The unemployment rate in NJ is now 9.7% (up from 9.3% prior to August) which is coincidentally the same as the national average. New Jersey has lost 155,700 jobs since December 2007, when the jobless rate was 4.5 percent.
As a result of these high unemployment rates New Jersey state has qualified for unemployment benefit extensions which were introduced as part of the 2009 stimulus package.
Unemployment benefits currently available in New Jersey
At the moment there are a total of 79 weeks of unemployment available:
- Initial unemployment benefits (UB – 26 weeks) – These are the regular unemployment benefits which are available regardless of the economy.
- Emergency unemployment benefits Tier I (EUC Tier I – 20 weeks)
- Emergency unemployment benefits Tier II (EUC Tier II – 13 weeks)
- Emergency benefits will be paid by the same method as the regular benefits (direct deposit or check).
- Extended benefits (EB – 20 weeks)
- 13 weeks from bill H3548 – Note that this has not passed yet.
The past year has not been very good for a lot of American workers. Because of the 2008 financial crisis and recession – millions of Americans have lost their jobs. The current national unemployment rate is 9.7% as of Sept 4. While many workers will find new jobs within the time period of existing employment benefits – many more will run out of benefits before finding a new job.
On September 22, the House passed legislation called Bill H3548 which will allow any states with a total unemployment rate (TUR) of 8.5% or higher to be eligible for federal funding which will allow 13 more weeks of extended unemployment benefits for those people who have exhausted all the current benefits. If this bill is passed then New Jersey would qualify for another 13 weeks of extended benefits.
294 replies on “New Jersey Unemployment Benefit Extension Information”
i didnt call them to claim, i tried doing it online. it let me answer all the questions. and after i submited my claim, it said that my payment wasnt available at the time. so i called customer service to see why it wasnt available, since i was able to read my new remainin balance and everything but it wasnt payable at the time. so the guy told me it wasnt available because i was suposed to call on wednesday, and he said wednesday everything should be ready.
i recomend not to even try doing it online till wed. because the guy i talked to had to cancel my claim and fix it. so i guess if i didnt call and fix that, the system could’ve gotten mixd up or something. so just wait till wednesday lol. its hard to wait, knowing that everything is ready, and thursday theres no mail. but i guess thats all we can do.
yea i exhausted everything, all my extensions. i dont even know if my bank account is still open since i havent used it in like 2 months lol… sad.
I am going to try to apply tomorrow(tuesday, 24th) online like it recommended and see what happens. I’ll post my results in here.
THIS IS CONFUSING CAUSE I GUESS THEY ARE GOING TO SEND U SOMETHNG LAST MINUTE TELLING U TO CLAIM I ONLY GOT THE LETTER STATEING THERE WAS AN EMERGENCY EXTENSION BUT SINCE THEN NOTHING … I HAVENT HAD ANY CHECKS SINCE SEPT. AN I AM IN NEED BAD BUT, ARE THEY GANA LET U KNOW EITHER WHICH WAY IF WE DENIED OR NOT LOL I NEED A JOB IS UNEMPLOYMENT HIRING I THINK THEY NEED HELP SINCE THEY SEEM BACKD UP , BUT HAS ANYONE GOT A LETTER SAY THEY WAS DENIED OR NOT
KA, Read that letter they sent you very carefully. If you were employed for at least a year straight before you went on unemployment, and have used up your Tier 1 Tier 2, and the “Obama Extension” (just called EUB–should’ve been the last 1 you got), and weren’t kicked off unemployment for violating their rules, and they sent you that letter, then yes, you’ll get your benefits. If it makes you feel any better, read half this board: NOBODY has gotten their letters of monetary determination. For whatever reason, NJ just didn’t send them out, but folks have called, and been told by Unemployment that they should just call and get their benefits on Wednesday 25th. So if they sent you a letter saying you exhausted all prior benefits and “in the next few days should receive a letter of monetary determination”, then you’ll get your money; it’s like the rest of us: we didn’t get ours either, but we’re still OK to get paid. Check on your computer tomorrow and see what it says. Hope that helps.
Don,t get me wrong , i appreciate the 3rd extention, but don’t you think they should have posted something on the unemployment website as to what is going on with the monetary determination letters. Also what to do in case you don,t receive one. It seems silly to me that their agents are getting bombarded with phone calls about the same thing call after call, and all they have to do is either post the info, or have a special automated message for the people who are calling about this extention. I know their busy, but how many people does it take to do this??? I think they would eliminate 60% of their volume of phone calls, and people flooding their local office. Guys just keep posting because the only info we are getting is from us!!! Good Luck and Happy Thanksgiving ( i hope)
Just received monetary determination letter in mail!!!!!! Hope you guys did too!!!! Happy Thanksgiving Everybody
I just received the Notice of Benefits Determination Extended Unemployment letter today in the mail. But this letters advises me to call 11/26/09 all the other information tells me to call on the Nov.25. I don’t know what date to call, I don’t want to mess it up. Has anyone else had to problem?
Lynda, mine says call on 25th. This is only a guess but they Know the volume of calls will be heavy on Wed. Maybe they are trying to spread the calls out so they can handle them. You can not screw up by calling a day later, only if you call before the date on the certification. If you can get thru to an agent, that would be great. But if you can,t i would wait until date on letter. I know it is on Thanksgiving day, but it is an automated system, so it’s not like someone has to be there to handle your claim. You have to figure even if you call on Wed the mail is not going to move until Fri because of the Holiday anyway. The worst that could happen is that you get your check a day later. I know this sucks because everybody needs that money, but you will get it. If you have direct deposit it may not make a differance anyway. The money can not go in until Fri anyway. So unless you get the OK from an agent, i would not call until the date on the letter. Happy Thanksgiving Joey P
Just received monetary determination letter in the mail!!!!!! Good luck everyone!
I received my monetary letter today but it’s only for 14 weeks. I’m almost positive that we are entitled to 20 weeks in total due to New Jersey’s very high unemployment. Does anyone out there in Jersey have the answer to my question ?
Lynda. Call on 25th or 26th. Got same notice. One says 25th & other says 26th. I called. Told to claim either day.
Ernie after u finished with the 1st part of extension the additional 6 weeks will be added on.
Thank you Michele for the answer. It does stipulate on my monetary letter that I received today that I’m allowed a maximum of 14 weeks. I wonder why they didn’t state 20 weeks. Are you sure we will get the full 20?
Ernie
I love how, no matter what, with unemployment, they always find a way to make us all sweat until the very last possible second when it comes to putting food on our tables and paying our bills. Gotta love the government…
I received notice that i am eligable for emergency extension,however i worked one 8hr day on nov 9th and left the job due to not being able to handle the work physically.I called today and let them know what happened and they said they are mailing me information.My question…..Will working that one day screw me from getting this latest extension? nj
1st letter stated 20 wks, 2nd letter stated 14 wks. Also 2 different call in dates. Called and thats what I was told.
Despite Joe’s warnings, I also tried to apply again today (online, not call-in) and it also let me answer the questions. Then it also gave me the same message about the payment not being available. The balance was for 14 weeks worth of pay, though, so I guess the extra 6 will be added on the end just as Michele has stated. I had to call and get my application null and voided so that tomorrow’s doesn’t screw it up. The lady was fine with me. I didn’t receive my monetary determination letter yet, but I expect to. As for the 14 weeks versus 20 weeks, well, the letter says the gov’t signed for 14 for the nation, and AN ADDITIONAL 6 weeks to those above 8.5%, like NJ. So I’m guessing at first we’ll ALL get 14, and then the states at 8.5% or higher will get another extension. So, let’s hope all goes well tomorrow, or else I’m calling someone and getting this mess straight, and will thousands of others, I’m sure. Here’s to hoping for the best.
I received my monetary determination which had a call in date of 11/26/09. I am going to call in on 11/25/09 as per eligibility letter. As to the 14weeks instead of 20, the ARRA has yet to be extended disallowing any tier change after 12/31/09. Anyone who runs out of benefits, whether it be tier 1,2, 3 or 4 after the new year will not receive extended benefits. The ARRA has not been extended by congress and the senate. In many ways this oversight negates the intention of the latest extention in benefits. The congress and senate have four weeks to extend the ARRA before their winter recess. Look up NELP on the internet for a full explanation, and the opportunity to email a scripted letter to your congressmen and senators, letting them know the gravity of the situation, along with the fact that they are public servants, elected and paid by us. Well good luck everybody. Together we can tackle this problem. Happy Thanksgiving!
Will P. : your post is about as vague and unclear as the letters the state sends us. How about putting it in layman’s terms… this isn’t a congressional writing contest. And basically what it appears that you’re saying is that despite a federal bill, they made a mistake in the wording of it, forcing states to lie about the amount of weeks, because apparently nobody in congress knows what the hell is going on financially, which all sounds absurd. I think you’re raising a red flag and causing alarm where it’s unneeded. They said we’re getting 20 weeks; we’re getting 20 weeks. You’re not helping by scaring people by saying we’re screwed right before the holidays. How about a link that actually says we’re not getting 20 weeks rather than an ad for NELP?
tried to call this morning like they said, all i hear is silence and operator comes on and says your call did not go thru. NO sh!!. Then i try internet and they say my SS” can not be found in system. What the hell is going on!!!!!
Claim went thru even though I had 2 different call in dates. Good luck all.
i tried doin it online n it wouldnt let me. On the phone it says to call back due to the high volume of calls. Michelle, how did u claim, did u have to keep tryin or did it just go thru when u called?
Received my monetary letter yesterday. Only for 14 weeks. However I believe when you exhaust the 14 weeks the additional 6 weeks will kick in for a total of 20! I also filed online yesterday and it went thru!
Good luck to all!!!!
Called, said all lines in use, please hold. In less than minute line opened and claim went thru. First try.
i just claimed and it went through after an hour of trying..
however, i had to call a different number because the lines were busy… call the reemployment call center in your county(the numbers are in that letter we got yesterday) and there it gives u a menu, i think option 3 is to claim… u have to wait like 5 minutes, but at least i got through, instead of callin repeatedly…
dont worry ppl. my online claim wasnt goin through either. i was sweating on that phone call cuz i was expecting the worse.lol
I tried online this morning. It said no payment was available, then after that I called the line, and it said my payment was processed already. This is probably because of yesterday. So I decided I needed to speak with a person and a get straight answer. The woman told me that because I filed yesterday, while technically my balance was zero, my account was put on hold. She said she released the check and it’s on the way. So my advice to anyone who filed yesterday would be to call and speak to a representative live, because this might be the case everywhere.
hi does anyone know anything in massachusetts got letter called number and been calling in the last 3 weeks still no money and now been trying to get cust service for four days they just keep saying to busy call back can anyone help
I received my first tier 3 check today. At the top it said 0 balance and gave no further call in date. Any idea why?
To Joey P.
Thanks for all of your information. I did call today and my claim do go thru. Thanks again Everyone have a great Thanksgiving!
i called to extend my benefits earlier innovember and when i spoke to a representative he told me that they will be sending a letter for me to call in on the 23 or the 25th. i went online on the 23rd and it said i am claiming on rong day. so i went and filed tuesday the 24th because i always file tuesdays and it went right through. i had no problems at all. now im jus waiting to recieve my check since i have direct deposit. it should come today.
Claimed on Wednesday. All state offices closed today. Wonder when money will arrive?
i claimed wednesday too. im wondering if the check are still being mail today eventhough they’re closed and wednesday there was no mail.
Also, i receieved a letter with a non-negociable check, that indicates to claim one week, next week. did anyone else receive this. i was just wondering if the check being non-negotiable is some mistake, or if this letter is sent before u even claimed the first 2 weeks, just to let u know u have to call next week for just 1 week. ??
I received my first check in the mail for my New Jersey unemployment benefit extension but on the form it does not give me a call back claims date nor does it state my remaining balance. No social secutity number etc. When I called in this past week on the phone it did give me a balance. When my brother received his check he had all the necessary info there such as remaining balance, call date etc. Has this happened to anyone else in New Jersey when they received their first extension check on 11/27.?
Ernie, I received unemployment check today, same thing happened to me. There is no balance and no date to call although I also got balance when I did it online. It must be a glitch. I guess I’ll have to call if we don’t get follow up information.
I received my first check today same thing happened to me no information on the “Claim for Benefits”. Who ever can get through to unemployment first, please let everyone else know. Thanks
I was able to get through to someone at the center who was very nice. She informed me that many checks were sent out out without information such as remaining balance etc. I called the Cumberland Center which I feel is the best one to contact. Iwas assured that it’s just a glitch in the system and was given a date of 12/10 to call on my next check. She also confirmed that we will definitely get the additional 6 week extension automatically without any problem.
Jay,I claimed online on Wed the 25 th, I did get my check today Saturday the 28th. Ernie, thank you very much for the information.
Haven’t received my check yet. There was a blank check sent with a packet that said I also claim for only week ending the 28th. Nov. next week–the 1st or the 3rd. There was a little mix up that I mentioned above, and my checks have run a day or two behind some people in the past, so I’m assuming/hoping it’ll be here by mon., tues., or wed. at the lastest. But couple that with the “half of a check” I’ll be getting as well, and that’s almost 1200$ in a week. HUGE help.
Also, does anyone know for sure if we’re still getting the bi-weekly 50$ stimulus checks? I had read when they started they’d continue until June or July of 2010 to those still receiving EUB. I’m not sure if it still applies to those of us who have exhausted the other benefits already and have had a lapse in pay. I anyone knows for sure, please post. Thank you.
thanks ERNIE saved me alot of head aches
Put me on the list of people. I claimed on the 25th received my check on the 28th however there is no balance and no date to call in..
Claimed on the 25th, got a message at the end saying this claim cannot be paid at this time, went to the one stop, all they said was my claim was processed and my account was credited for two weeks, now on saturday 28th I get what I think is my check, instead its a non neg. check with my claim form to call in on dec 9th for my next two weeks. Did anyone get that message when they claimed on the 25th, if so did you get an explanation as to what that means
Paul, i called the 23rd to claim, instead of the 25th. and had the same problem. so i called and they fixed it, and i had to call back the 25th to claim. i suggest u call them. i got my check on sat. dont worry, worst case u just have to call them and fix it.
i also got that letter with the non-neg. check. it just lets u know when to call. however, mine said to call this wednesday (2nd) but yours could be different. you should be fine, just call them, and worst case they messed up your claim(like they did with mine) and they’ll fix it for u.
Does anyone know if we are getting the 50$ bi-weekly checks we used to get? i doubt it, but let me know if u know.
I did the same thing as Joe NJ. Claimed early online. It let me answer everything. Then it said not payable at this time. That was the 24th. Then I called and they said they deleted everything, that I was good to go on wed. to reclaim. But on wed. 25th, I went to claim online, and it wouldn’t even let me get to the Q&A screen. At forst it said there was no payment available in red letters. Then I tried to relogin, and the message was changed to no record of an account for my SS#. So I tried calling it in. The automated recording told me my claim was already processed as soon as I put in my PIN and SS#. I was like, WTF? SO I called my local EU base, and the woman told me there was a hold placed on my account because I originally tried to claim (24th, Tues.) before there was technically any balance left. She told me she released my check. I asked her flat out: “does this mean I’m getting paid now?” She assured me the check was on its way. This was Wed. 25th, about 9:30 a.m. I read on here that most people received their checks on sat 28th. I did not. I was worried. I only received a NOG check that said to claim this week on the 3rd for one week–last week ending the 28th. Now I was worried and alarmed, but also relieved. If all went well, I’d be getting a whole check and a half check in the same week. Today, my check from last week was in my mailbox. I had forgotten to take into account that I am living in PA, even though I collect from NJ. This probably accounts for the extra day I had to wait for the mail. Anyway, things are sort of back to normal now. If anyone else has experienced this problem or something similar, please feel free to ask questions.
Joe, I still don’t know about the 50$ bi-weekly stimulus checks. I haven’t been able to find anything online about it. Maybe the best thing to do is just call or stop in and ask someone–or wait. If we’re getting them, it should be within the next day or two.
Did anyone not receive their benifit check for euc tier 3 ?? I called on Wed and did not get thru so i spoke to an agent, and the agent put the claim in for me and said my payment was on it’s way . I usually get my check on Sat , but because of holiday i figured on Mon for sure. Mailman came , no check. I tried to reach an agent and could not get thru. Was told to call back due to volume of calls. I called for my balance and it was 0 and said my last check was issued in Sept. Should i be worried, because i sent out checks and need that money. Someone please let me know if there going thru same thing. Thank you Joey p
by the way, i already claimed my second check (for 1 week) this morning, eventhough my day to call was wednesday. It went through, so I should be getting that check in a couple days.
Has anyone heard anything more about when the next call-in date is? I have my check, but the stub was blank. No new call in date. My guess is to claim two weeks from last Wed. Any more info would be great!
On friday as per direct deposit received first euc check. Best advice do direct deposit. Yes, we do get the extra 50.00.
Received certification 2 day, all info was there. If u called on 25th, next date to claim is the 10th. Hope this was helpful.
Michelle,thankyou. how do u know about the $50.- oh and the second check , i guess is diff. for everybody, cuz i only gotta claim 1 week on the 2nd. then after that it goes back to normal.
Fifty was directly deposited from state into my acct 2 day. And the unemployment site has been updated as well.