Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 20, 1993                   TAG: 9304200149
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

IN BUSINESS

The 9,430 Virginians who have filed new jobless benefit claims may find the compensation interrupted next week unless Congress enacts an emergency supplemental appropriation, the Virginia Employment Commission said Monday.

The interruption would not affect recipients of regular state unemployment insurance benefits or those who filed claims before March 6, said VEC commissioner Ralph Cantrell.

The funding may be interrupted because the $4 billion needed to fund the extension is part of President Clinton's economic stimulus package, which is tied up in the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Labor Department said.

The Labor Department urged claimants who filed initial claims for extended benefits after March 6 to continue to file even if there is an interruption in funding. Congress may authorize payments to be made retroactively, the VEC said.

The average weekly benefit amount for recipients of the emergency unemployment compensation is $155. Since the program began in November 1991, the emergency compensation for Virginians has exceeded $205.6 million, the agency said. - Staff report