Unemployment benefits running out for Utahns

Once familiar faces to television news viewers, former anchors Terry and Susan Wood now are among a growing group of Utahns facing a less glamorous prospect -- the exhaustion of their unemployment benefits.

Susan Wood's are set to expire in two weeks, his a while later, as they join the ranks of people without benefits that could top 18,000 by year's end. Terry Wood waited a couple of months before filing his unemployment claim, unconvinced that his 43-year broadcasting career was over after he and his wife were, to their surprise, fired Dec. 23 by KTVX Channel 4.

But nearly nine months later, both are still out of work, wondering when their luck will change and jobs will materialize to provide a stable income so they

can quit scrimping on expenses and worrying about paying for her daughter's college education.

They also worry about how they will keep the eastside Sandy house Terry Wood designed in 1976, early in a career that took him to all three Salt Lake City TV stations, as well as to jobs in Atlanta and New Orleans.

"That's the one big fear," he said, lamenting that "I took for granted that I had a good job. So many people think, 'it can't happen to me.' But it happened to both of us. ... I'm just glad we had some savings. My 401(k) has tided us through so far. What happens when it runs out, I don't know."

The future is just as perplexing, probably even more ominous, for thousands of unemployed workers whose benefits have run out or are approaching an end as the recession drags on. Many don't have as many resources to rely on as do the Woods, and they are turning in record numbers to everyone from family to social services for help.

Last September, at age 57, Carl Daniels lost his job stocking shelves at a Walmart in Lehi. Recently divorced, he moved back to the Holladay house where he grew up to tend to his aging parents (his dad died in July). Daniels' benefits ran out a month ago.

"I'm not

totally broke," he said. "I don't have a lot of bills. I help mom, take care of her, pay some [household] bills and buy some food. I just keep hoping and praying every night, but I'm having a heckuva time trying to find a job."

Family also has come through for Ashley Cutler, 22, a single mother of two (Skkyler, 3, and Dreyvin, 9 months) after her unemployment benefits expired Tuesday.

"I've just been asking family and friends for help," said Cutler, who lost her job as a trucking company payroll clerk last September. "But I might have to move out of my apartment and move into a family member's house until I find a job or things pick up in my favor."

Needing diapers for her baby, she turned for assistance to Crossroads

Urban Center, where executive director Glenn Bailey said "the number of people coming to us for the first time has been high, showing the impact of higher unemployment."

The demand for food from Crossroads' pantry is 25 percent to 30 percent above last year's record level, Bailey added, noting that "we just barely scratch the surface in helping people." He expects the situation to worsen through the winter, as more Utahns exhaust their unemployment benefits and outside donations dwindle after Christmas.

By then, said the Washington, D.C-based advocacy group National Employment Law Program, more than 18,000 Utahns will have used up their benefits.

That number may be low. NELP's estimate that 10,731 Utahns will have reached that point by the end of September already has been eclipsed, according to figures from the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which administers the unemployment insurance program.

State data show the benefits of 11,502 Utahns had expired by Aug. 27, and another 4,300 claimants were on track to exhaust theirs this month.

"We expect the numbers to go up," spokesman Curt Stewart said. "The surge in unemployment began in November of last year ... so those folks will start being bumped out if they haven't found employment yet."

That they are still receiving public assistance is in large part thanks to Congress' passage in February of the American Relief and Recovery Act. It provided 100 percent federal reimbursement of a 13-week extension of "emergency unemployment compensation" the jobless could receive after using up their initial 26-week allocation. The act also increased recipients' weekly checks by $25.

Through Monday, Utah had expended almost $59 million for the two programs, including $4.9 million in the preceding week, said Bill Starks, the state agency's unemployment insurance director.

Congress is considering another extension. The Senate Finance Committee conducted a hearing Tuesday, at which chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. said: "We need to keep our unemployed neighbors from falling into poverty. We need to figure out how best to make our safety net work."

But the main bill being discussed thus far offers nothing for jobless Utahns because the state's 6 percent unemployment rate is too low. The legislation directs its money to harder-hit states. That doesn't seem fair to NELP chairwoman Beth Shulman, who pointed out to Baucus's committee that "even those states with low unemployment rates relative to the national average have experienced a major increase in their unemployment rates [Utah's is up from 3.4 percent a year earlier] and the number of workers exhausting state benefits."

Her group is pushing for a minimum extension of 10 weeks for all states.

That would give people such as the Woods more time to find jobs and avoid having to make tough sacrifices to cope with the situation.

Susan Wood, for instance, "sold gold yesterday. I took rings I haven't worn for a long time and sold them. It was a humiliating experience. But gold is up, so it was a good day to sell."

And it was a day to ponder. "It seems like a dark, ominous cloud is lingering over us," she added. "When is the sun coming out again?"

mikeg@sltrib.com