EXTENDING UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
WHEREAS, at this point in the current economic recession there are 8.79 million unemployed
people, the highest level in nearly a decade, and the number of jobs is at the lowest level in 41
months; and
WHEREAS, the number of long-term unemployed is growing and their situation is deteriorating;
the rate at which people are exhausting their regular unemployment benefits before finding a new
job was at its highest level ever recorded in February 2003 and at its second highest level in March
2003; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Conference of Mayors' June 2003 updated report, "The Role of Metro
Areas in the U.S. Economy: Employment Outlook," indicates that in 2002 U.S. metro areas lost
1.15 million jobs and that in the top 20 metro areas there is only a 0.1 percent projected job
growth for 2003; and
WHEREAS, the federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation program (TEUC)
which provides additional weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to individuals who have
exhausted their regular unemployment benefits, is phasing down sharply at the end of May 2003;
and
WHEREAS, the federal unemployment insurance trust funds currently have a surplus of more
than $21 billion; and
WHEREAS, a recent study by Economy.com, an independent financial research group, found that
each dollar dedicated to extending the TEUC program would boost the economy by $1.73,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that The U.S. Conference of Mayors calls on
Congress and the Administration to ensure that temporary extensions of unemployment benefits
continue until there is significant improvement in the labor market in the United States for an
extended period of months.
©2003 U.S. Conference of Mayors 
