Obama Signs Bill to Extend Unemployment Benefits

President Obama signed the measure after last month’s unemployment rate reached 10.2 percent, the highest it has been in 26 years.

The now-extended unemployment benefits should apply to the longtime jobless.

Michael Thurmond, commissioner for the Georgia Department of Labor, applauded the president’s action on the bill: “We have thousands of Georgians and millions of Americans who have lost their benefits, so the extension will help those Americans pay their bills, put food on the table and support them while they look for new work.“