Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ken.) objects to one-week extension of unemployment benefits , suggesting instead that the Senate take up the bipartisan jobs proposal unveiled earlier in the day by Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), which includes extensions of unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidies.

"Now, I know my friend and colleague is going to offer some scaled-down version of that shortly, but if we offered instead the Grassley-Baucus amendment, which was filed earlier today, that would include the unemployment extension," said McConnell.

Reid did not accept McConnell’s suggestion — he had already rejected the Grassley-Baucus jobs proposal.

"Let me just add that unemployment insurance does not expire until February the 28th," said McConnell. "We’ll be back on the 22nd and hopefully we’ll have sufficient time to work on an acceptable extension."

Judy Conti, a lobbyist for the National Employment Law Project, doesn’t even want a one-week extension. She said a one-week extension would lead to more brinkmanship in Congress and chaos in unemployment agencies — not to mention anxiety for benefits recipients.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuZMzQAR0M0

The latest extension is good news for the 10.6% of Kentuckians who are out of work. Unemployment benefits set to expire Dec. 31 will continue into next year, keeping more than 32,000 Kentuckians from losing benefits, Gov. Beshear announced Wednesday. President Barack Obama signed legislation Dec. 19 extending the filing deadline for the federally funded jobless benefits from Dec. 31, 2009 to Feb. 28, 2010. The measure also continues the extra $25 a week benefits approved in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Last week Gov. Beshear sent letters to members of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation urging them to back any measure designed to further provide a temporary extension of certain unemployment benefits. “This extension comes in the nick of time as many Kentuckians are exhausting their benefits and struggling to put food on the table and pay their bills,” said Gov. Beshear. “I applaud Congress and President Obama for recognizing this critical need and will continue to advocate for Kentucky’s unemployed workers during these challenging times.”

Under the new law, people receiving unemployment benefits will continue to be enrolled in the next available benefit program through the end of February. Claimants do not have to apply for the extension. Those who are eligible will automatically continue to receive benefits as long as they keep filing weekly unemployment claims.

Kentucky’s Office of Employment and Training, an agency of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, and the Commonwealth’s 10 local workforce investment boards remain committed to providing work search assistance, training and other employment services to unemployed Kentuckians. For more information, go to www.oet.ky.gov.

This latest Unemployment extension provides up to 14 additional weeks of federally funded compensation to Kentucky’s unemployed workers who have exhausted their 26 weeks of state benefits and all federally funded benefits provided through all the previous the emergency extensions.

“This latest extension has the potential of assisting more than 32,000 Kentuckians who are struggling to provide for their families,” said Gov. Beshear. “This additional compensation will help them endure these challenging times as we all work together to put Kentuckians back to work.”

The nearly 10,000 Kentuckians who have already exhausted all 79 weeks of UI benefits may be eligible for payments retroactive to Nov. 8. A link will be made available within the online claims application by Dec 10, 2009 to allow requests of eligible weeks retroactive to that time. Claimants should wait two business days after filing to request payments for prior weeks on the oet.ky.gov Web site.

The current rate of unemployment in the state of Kentucky is about nine percent, a bit higher than the national average of 8.9 percent. Due to the higher rate of unemployment here, the job prospects in Kentucky seem to some residents, bleak, however this is not necessarily the case.  Many of those people need government Mortgage help, due to their income problems.  There are programs for  Government help with Mortgage payments.

Because of the higher unemployment rate, some companies which are in the service industry are actually hiring more when they typically do not. One such company or service industry is the Kentucky Unemployment offices, most of which are actually hiring new staff to facilitate the Unemployment Compensation seekers.

Also, it is important that Kentuckians bear in mind that even those companies who are laying off, are in need of workers for various portions of their company and may in fact be hiring for other positions while laying off workers from another area of the company. In many cases this will hold true, particularly in factory positions, where one area is experiencing lessened growth, while another area, such as office workers or inventory control needs to be built up. If you’re laid off from a company, first try transferring into another area of that company if you are eligible to apply.

Kentucky Job seekers will find that the up and coming jobs in the state of Kentucky will primarily, over the course of the next months and years, be those jobs which are desirous of some additional education to accomplish.

Typically the jobs which will be the most in demand are those which you require an associate degree to gain, such as hotel and restaurants industry, technical assistance and internet technology.

The jobs which will be least in demand and the least stable will likely be the manufacturing jobs, which largely depend on the vagaries of the retail industry to keep them afloat.

Mass layoffs in recent years in Kentucky have taken place in the automobile industry as well as non farming industries from across Kentucky. Total mass layoff events (more than fifty workers displaced constitutes a mass layoff event) in the state of Kentucky between April of 2007 and March of 2008 are about 64 in number.

Kentucky’s highest industry for employment at the present time appears to be Trade, Transportation and Utilities, which is fairly stable and even hiring at the present time.

The lowest rate of employment in Kentucky presently which still remains fairly stable is the Information industry, while Government Education is seeing significant growth presently.

We can assume from these trends that “the” place to be in career choices in Kentucky would be Government and politics, Public education or Transportation, Utilities and Trade, or even the information industry.

While the retail and manufacturing areas are in the middle ground so far as employers, but are not as stable as some of those which are lower employers but are predicted to experience growth in the coming few years.

The jobless rate in Kentucky presently is about 9.2 percent, which means that it it sits above the national average, meaning that filing for unemployment compensation in the Kentucky area can be lengthy if you do so in person at an employment center. The Kentucky Unemployment office can help by providing a means of income when your employment status has been interrupted.

It is important to file your claim as soon as you are permitted by your state, since in most states, unemployment compensation begins the day you file, NOT the day you are released from work, so your finances may be interrupted if you do not file as soon as you are allowed to do so. Unemployment is also not retroactive to your last date of work in many states.

When filing for regular unemployment compensation insurance in the state of Kentucky, you can, and should file for those benefit checks using the internet, which site is located at :

www.kewes.ky.gov.

Filing at the Kentucky Unemployment Office web site will greatly speed the process of filing a claim in Kentucky and may prevent you from actually losing out on some weeks of unemployment compensation that you might have claimed.

Since the web site and the phone lines are busy in Kentucky currently, there are specific hours you may file, even when using the automated online system.

The specific rules for filing, which come to you directly from the Kentucky OET web site are as follows:

If you are FILING A CLAIM or REQUESTING BENEFITS, either on the Internet or using the phone system, please note you can do so based upon the last digit of your Social Security Number. Below is the schedule you should follow, directly from the Kentucky Unemployment Web Site text. Due to an increase in the number of unemployment compensation filings, the following schedule will hold true.

If the last number of your Social Security Number is:

- 0, 1, you can file your claim or request benefits on Monday

- 2, 3, 4, 5 you can file your claim or request benefits on Tuesday

- 6, 7, 8, 9 you can file your claim or request benefits on Wednesday

Hours for requesting benefits are Sunday 10am-9pm and Monday-Friday 7am-7pm.

If you are filing an Extended Unemployment claim, please use the extended unemployment benefits website.

If you are requesting Extended Unemployment benefit checks, please do so by calling 866-291-2926.

If you are requesting your benefit check you may do so anytime during the week you were instructed to Sunday-Friday.

Filing for unemployment in Kentucky has never been easier than now, with the wonderful web site services and the electronic filing available to us. If nothing else we can at least be grateful for the speed with which we can complete our claims business.

The OET of Kentucky, or the Kentucky Unemployment Offices are far more than simply a place to file unemployment. They also offer you multiple other benefits, up to and including the ability to file for the Unemployment Compensation insurance extended benefits program which will extend your unemployment compensation by as much as thirteen weeks of unemployment,.

Additionally you will find multiple ways to seek out new jobs there, as well as links to assist you if you are considering a career change and ways to help you find training programs, as well as a method to pay for those training programs.

Though you can file for your unemployment insurance benefits at the Kentucky Offices of Employment and Training, they do in fact recommend that you don’t, since it takes far less time to apply online or by means of the telephone.

Application for your employment benefits by phone can be made by phoning : 1-859-547-3362

Application for unemployment benefits by online application at the OET web site can be accomplished by accessing the following site page:

http://www.oet.ky.gov/des/jobseeker/jobopenings.htm

For your convenience, or if you don’t have internet access from home, or have a part of the unemployment compensation filing process that you do not understand there are multiple OET offices in the state of Kentucky to serve you.

Your Unemployment office, or OET in Kentucky is a place where you can avail yourself of the job seeker services using the computers housed in the OET offices, clarify your rights and responsibilities under the Kentucky Unemployment Benefits program or meet with an employment counselor to assist you in retraining to find a new position in a new field in Kentucky.

The Kentucky Office of Employment and Training Offices, or Kentucky Unemployment Offices, which are in your area are listed on the Kentucky OET web sites, and are listed by region of the state. To find an office of Employment and training, visit the Kentucky OET web site, located at http://www.oet.ky.gov/.

The offices have various hours, for each specific region so do make sure that you visit the main Kentucky web site in order to find a telephone directory and other information for your visit to the regional OET offices.

You may also telephone or TDD the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training at the following numbers:

Office of Employment and Training

275 East Main Street 2nd Floor

Frankfort, Kentucky 40601

502.564.7456 Phone

502.564.7459 Fax

Kentucky Relay Service

1-800-648-6057

Frankfort Kentucky Unemployment Office

The state of Kentucky Unemployment rate, currently well above the national average has created some detrimental effects on the finances of its residents. Kentucky offers you unemployment so that you are given some means of financing your life until you seek and find additional unemployment.

Kentucky Unemployment Insurance benefits are a temporary solution to the dilemma of not having an income when you are out of work.

Your eligibility for the collection of Unemployment compensation benefits is determined several ways. You must be out of work through no fault of your own to be eligible for unemployment compensation.

You must also be eligible for work and be willing to accept a job if it is found and offered to you. If you turn down a position, even one which pays less than your unemployment benefits you are no longer eligible for benefits under the unemployment compensation.

You must file a claim with the Kentucky Unemployment Office, in order to gain your unemployment benefits. As soon as it is determined that you will be off work for more than a small period of days, you should begin your filing of unemployment papers in order to receive the full amount due to you in as little time as possible. Your filing is not retroactive to your last day of work, but will begin on the first date of filing and proceed from there, meaning that you will only be able to be paid after you’ve filed.

Since your unemployment compensation checks won’t begin to appear until perhaps 3-4 weeks after the initial filing, it is in your best interests to file as soon as possible after your last date of work.

You have certain other rights as well as responsibilities under the laws of Kentucky when it comes to filing for, and receiving benefits from Kentucky Unemployment insurance. Those rights and responsibilities are made clear for you on the Kentucky Unemployment Office web site, along with instructions for filing electronically, as well as offices locations and other contact information for the Kentucky OET.

Kentucky does, as well as most other states now, offer you an extension of your benefits under the Emergency Benefits program which was signed into law, permitting you to gain about 80% of your total unemployment benefits above and beyond your regular UC compensation package. What this means is that you are able, in most states to gain another 13 to 20 weeks of unemployment in addition to your regular unemployment compensation. This was done in response to the higher national unemployment rate.

Kentucky OET web sites can offer more information about what you can expect from the unemployment insurance program in their state, as well as exactly how to file and what to do if your unemployment compensation is denied to you.

The state of Kentucky offers only one government site from which to seek a new position, however it is a well written and well rounded site that will help you to seek out new employment in the local, state or national area.

The navigation is easily accomplished and the site holds multiple areas from which to select, making it easy to use and worth your time to visit and take advantage of.

The Kentucky Unemployment Office or OET (http://oet.ky.gov/des/ui/ui.asp)

web site is one such area, where you may avail yourself of new jobs, seek out employers or leave a resume for a job matching service.

The services of the job seeker site don’t end there, but also you may select from other areas, which include training methods, companies or schools that will give you the means to enter into a new career that may be more in demand in your area, and get you back to work for long term.

The site also offers you a means to apply for ways to pay for that new training and what qualifications are necessary, so that you know what training you’re going to require for any given job that you may select to train for..

The Kentucky Unemployment Office Web site (http://oet.ky.gov/des/ui/ui.asp) also offers you the choice of advanced job seeking, using your education as a method of finding a job that is most suitable for you. You can input your own training and education into the Kentucky Unemployment office web site by virtue of a resume or educational background type application and the companies who are looking for someone with your experience and training will be able to input that need and come up with resumes or educational backgrounds that match their requirements. In other words, your own resume may be fed directly to a company seeking to hire someone, which makes it a lot easier to find the work you want.

Although your selections of government operated web sites for the job seeker in Kentucky are somewhat limited, the site itself is not limited in any way. Kentucky’s Government Unemployment office web sites have a great deal to offer you when you are seeking new training or employment.

The one site which is offered is certainly well worth your time and is written and designed to assure that you find exactly what you are looking for.

Kentucky OET, or Office of Employment and Training  also called the Kentucky Unemployment Office, exists to assist the users in filing for unemployment compensation, a guarantee of income when you have been displaced from your job through circumstances which are not of your making.

With the jobless rate in Kentucky sitting at about 9.2 percent, a bit higher than the national average, Kentucky’s job training facilities can greatly benefit the newly displaced worker in finding either a new job or training for a job that will be more secure for them in the future.

Kentucky’s main web site for unemployment is called the OET, or the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training and is part of a department called the Department for Workforce Investment. The Kentucky Unemployment Office offers you more than just a few services and site pages to select from, each with a specific service to offer to the unemployed worker.

The main web site offers multiple services to the web site users, and the staff of the OET offer training, unemployment insurance benefit services as well as labor and labor market information to the web site users.

While visiting the Kentucky OET web site(http://www.oet.ky.gov/des/) you may find job services and job matching services which permit you to interact with employers who may find your skills beneficial for their company. Upload your resume and let the Kentucky OET match your experiences and your particular job skills with an employer who has need of them.

You may seek out new employment opportunities on the Kentucky Job Services site, and the searches are available to you on a local, state and national level, to compare new positions.

The Kentucky Unemployment office site also offers unemployment benefits filing, and instructions to file for your unemployment compensation benefits online, as well as instructions for offline or telephone filing of those claims.

Additionally your visit to the Kentucky Unemployment Office will help you by offering you statistics on the wages and job market, and patterns and trends in the job market so that you can plan accordingly. The labor statistics Kentucky OET offers you are available to you nationally as well as locally, in your area, and state wide.

The Kentucky OET site has a great deal of helpful information to assist the job seeker or displaced worker to find employment and can be accessed at :

http://www.oet.ky.gov/des/