PR Newswire - Pennsylvania

	    Earlier Sunday Telephone Hours Now in Effect to Help Claimants

    HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Beginning Nov. 22,
Pennsylvanians who are out of work through no fault of their own may be
eligible to receive up to 20 additional weeks of emergency unemployment
compensation, Governor Edward G. Rendell said today.

    "This latest round of federally funded benefits provides a badly needed
financial lifeline to more than 35,000 Pennsylvania families who have
exhausted their benefits and need to pay for food, shelter, utilities and
other necessities as they seek to rejoin the workforce," said Governor
Rendell.

    Eligible claimants will receive information and filing instructions
about their emergency benefits via mail. If claimants have not received a
notice by Nov. 23 and believe they are eligible, they can contact the
unemployment compensation service center for assistance. Additional
information will be available later this week online at http://www.uc.pa.gov.

    Pennsylvanians now may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits for
up to 99 weeks based upon their claim status. Unemployed individuals who
have already exhausted all 79 weeks of benefits, or have been receiving
benefits for more than a year, could qualify for a total of up to 99 weeks.
Claimants who recently started receiving benefits or begin collecting
benefits between now and the end of the year may not receive the full 99
weeks due to the scheduled expiration of the Emergency UC program at the
end of 2009.

    The Governor also noted that the Department of Labor & Industry has
modified the Sunday hours for the UC Service Centers. Individuals who need
to contact the Service Center can call 1-888-313-7284 between 7 a.m. and
2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Monday through Friday, calling hours remain 7 a.m. to
8:30 p.m.

    "We are continuously looking at ways to provide the most effective
customer service to quickly get benefits to claimants who need them," said
Labor & Industry Secretary Sandi Vito. "Our analysis shows that these
earlier Sunday calling hours will help us serve more claimants at the
beginning of the week."

    The easiest way to file a claim for unemployment benefits is online at
http://www.uc.pa.gov.