The deadline for jobless residents in the Kingsville and Bishop area to qualify for emergency unemployment benefits has been extended to the week of Nov. 27.

Congress passed HR 4213, the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010, on Thursday setting the new filing deadline, which allows long-term claimants to continue receiving unemployment benefits.

President Barack Obama signed the bill shortly after it was passed.

Approximately 150,000 unemployment claimants in Texas had exhausted all available benefits due to the previous deadline. The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) has been advising claimants to continue requesting payment, so they now can receive payment for weeks since the last expiration date.

Claimants who are eligible for the federally funded extensions will receive statements from TWC with their new benefit amounts. TWC expects to begin sending payments to claimants in seven to 10 days.

Claimants should continue to request unemployment benefit payments on their scheduled day.

Claimants can find updated information on their claims at http://ui.texasworkforce.org, or by calling UI Tele-Serv at 1-800-558-8321 and pressing option 2.

There is no need to call TWC to qualify for the extension unless claimants receive a letter telling them to call.

Emergency unemployment benefits are entirely federally funded, so Texas employers will not be charged for any claims paid on this extension.