Federal Budget Cuts Take Bite Out of Idaho Unemployment Benefits

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The federal budget cuts that kicked in earlier this month are taking a bite out of extended unemployment benefits for thousands of jobless Idaho residents. The Idaho Department of Labor reports that the reductions that went into effect March 1 are forcing a 10.7 percent cut in payments.

The decrease in the weekly checks will begin Sunday and likely extend through the week of Sept. 22. The agency says regular state benefits of 10 to 26 weeks for more than 17,000 jobless Idaho workers will not be affected by the cuts.

This week, President Barack Obama has signed a stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through the end of September. But it left in place the $85 billion in automatic budget cuts known as the sequester.