Unemployment Benefits Set To Run Out For Thousands Of El Pasoans

Forget christmas presents. What millions of Americans want most is a job.

“It’s very hard. Especially when you’re older and you don’t have a degree in anything,” Maria Arellano said. “It’s really really hard.”

Arellano lost her job a few weeks ago, but she’s been on the hunt for a new one ever since.

“Yesterday, I went and put in a couple of applications and i’m going to go in tomorrow and put in another one,” Arellano said. “I’m looking everywhere. I mean whatever falls i’ll be happy to take it.”

It varies from state to state, but the average weekly unemployment benefit in the U.S. is about $300. In a tough economy, lawmakers said they just could not afford to extend long-term jobless benefits any longer.

“I was listening to the news this morning that they didn’t approve it, and it’s just like, ‘wow,'” Arellano said.

Arellano is one of nearly 14,000 people in El Paso without a job. Of this group, 1,500 will lose unemployment benefits by the end of this week. Checks will stop for an additional 32-hundred El Pasoans by the start of the new year.

“I’m just keep trying and trying. Hopefully something will come up, that’s what I do,” Arellano said. “Just wake up and hope that something will come up.”