Allow me to repeat this headline: 236,000 Americans will lose unemployment benefits this week. Nearly half of them will be Californians.
According to CBS, the benefits will be cut due to terms of a benefit extension agreement in Congress. It stated benefits would be cut off if unemployment rates fell below certain thresholds.
According to CNN Money, starting later this year the maximum number of weeks the jobless can collect unemployment benefits will be reduced to as little as 40 weeks in states with jobless rates below 6 percent and to as many as 73 weeks where unemployment tops 9 percent.