Tenn. labor says unemployment benefits extended

Tenn. Labor Department says extended unemployment benefits will now go through 2014

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tennessee residents will continue to get federal extended unemployment benefits for at least another year.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development had warned late last month that the benefits were about to expire.

But the agency announced this week that they have been extended through Jan. 1, 2014.

Congress created the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in 2008 to provide unemployment benefits to workers who had exhausted their state benefits. The legislation has been amended 10 times since it became effective.

About 30,000 Tennesseans receive the benefits.

Labor Commissioner Karla Davis said in a news release that claimants can get help finding jobs by using the Jobs4TN.gov website or visiting one of the department's career centers.