Federal benefits for the long-term unemployed in Massachusetts are set to be eliminated at the end of this month, a move community leaders and economists say will hurt those who can't find work and is not necessary for the nation's economic health.
People eligible for Emergency Unemployment Compensation, a federal program that paid for 24 additional weeks of benefits for individuals after 26 weeks of unemployment, will no longer receive aid after the program expires Dec. 28.
"It's going to be very hard. I don't know what I am going to do if that happens," said Eric Santos of Malden, who was at a Boston unemployment office Friday. "I haven't found anything."
The Malden resident said members of Congress considering moves to extend unemployment benefits should go to unemployment offices and talk to the people whose lives will be affected.
"They need to help us out," said Santos. "I don't think they realize what we're going through."
Nigel Gault, co-chief economist for the Parthenon Group, said the state of federal spending has made the cuts unnecessary.
"We're not in a situation where it's imperative to make these cuts in order to keep the budget deficit down," Gault said.
Unless Congress votes to extend the benefits, more than 2 million unemployed workers will lose benefits by March. The number of people affected in Massachusetts is unclear, the state said.
"There's a lot of people throughout the country who are going to lose that income, and there's nothing to replace it," said John Drew, president and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development.
To make matters worse, Drew said nearly all of ABCD's job training programs have been eliminated due to sequestration-related cuts. The community organization now only offers one program, and has cut 11.
Barry Twomey of Boston is retired and has a pension, but he had been working for Mission Hill Health running farmers' markets to make ends meet until the markets concluded for the season.
If his unemployment benefits were cut, his pension benefits would leave little beyond the necessities, Twomey said.
"I'd be getting by paycheck to paycheck," he said.
Michelle Amante, director of the state Department of Unemployment Assistance, said her department will try to help those who will be affected by the cuts.
"It is a priority for DUA to ensure claimants know about and are prepared for the end of this federal program," she said.
Some, including Drew, are hopeful that Congress will act to keep the benefits, which have been amended 11 times since 2008.
"I hope that good sense prevails, that they do extend" the benefits, Drew said.
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