Unemployment - By the numbers

CHAMPAIGN— Congress is expected to pass another unemployment extension this week that will allow the nation’s unemployed to claim up to a maximum 99 weeks of benefits through November.

This is good news for about 115,000 unemployed Illinois residents, who faced a loss of their unemployment benefits if Congress did not act.

As it is now, more than 36,500 residents have exhausted their unemployment benefits since January, according to data obtained from the Illinois Department of Economic Security.

Illinois topped the national unemployment rate in June with 10.4 percent of the state’s residents unemployed.  The unemployment rate nationwide was 9.5 percent in June.

Champaign County's unemployment rate in June was 9.5 percent.

In 2009, the state’s unemployed claimed benefits for an average of 25.8 weeks – the highest in 14 years.