At the end of 2013, 1.6 million long-term unemployed workers lost emergency benefits when Congress failed to renew the federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) program. Continued disagreements in Congress on whether and how to pay for the extension have left Americans struggling without the critical support and resources to get back on their feet. Each week, more than 72,000 additional unemployed workers will continue to be cut off until UI benefits are restored.

​Contradicting the economic success the Model Minority Myth suggests, Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) continue to be impacted by unemployment. The Labor Force Characteristics Report from the U.S. Department of Labor utilizes disaggregated data to signify the disparity in the AAPI labor force in 2011. Contrary to the 7.1% Asian American unemployment rate aggregate data suggests, Filipino (8.5%), Native Hawaiian/ Pacific Islander (10.4%) and Other Asian (9.6%) communities have unemployment rates exceeding the national average. Furthermore, an alarming 50.1% of unemployed AAPIs were jobless for over 27 weeks. With AAPIs having the highest rates of long-term unemployment of any racial or ethnic group in 2011, UI remains a lifeline for many AAPIs and other underserved communities who were heavily impacted by the recession and are still struggling to survive despite the current economic recovery.

11 million jobless Americans have benefitted from emergency financial assistance since 2008. We cannot allow Congress to eliminate UI benefits and abandon the 3.9 million Americans facing long-term unemployment. The undersigned organizations firmly believe that investing in unemployment benefits will help grow the economy the right way, by providing vulnerable workers a financial safety net as they strive to rejoin the American workforce and contribute to our nation’s economy in return. Our Organizations urge Congress to pass the UI extension immediately to support the working men and women who make America work.

The National Asian Pacific American Organizations that have signed onto this statement include:

sian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Japanese American Citizens League
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium
National Queer Asian Pacific Islander Alliance
Southeast Asian Resource Action Center
The Center for Asian Pacific American Women 

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Washington, DC – With a tally of 55-42, the US Senate fell short of enough votes to extend federal unemployment insurance benefits. The proposed bill would have paid for a three-month extension (retroactive to the initial elimination) of unemployment insurance with a “pension smoothing” approach. By decreasing employer contribution and increasing taxable income pension plans, the nation’s deficit would eventually be reduced by $1.2 billion. Although the proposed bill met the conditions outlined by the GOP and ensured that the unemployment insurance extension was paid for from other sources of revenue, this marks the third time unemployment insurance has been blocked.

“With higher rates of existing poverty in this economy, the impact of cutting long term unemployment insurance is drastic,” said Johanna Hester, APALA National President. “Unemployment insurance assistance provides vulnerable AAPI families a lifeline and a sense of security while they strive to get back on their feet. Failing to extend unemployment benefits forces at risk communities to be on the verge chronic poverty, bankruptcy, and even foreclosure.”

Nearly 1.7 million long-term unemployed Americans no longer have the vital income previously depended on from federal unemployment programs. The average unemployment duration is 37.1 weeks, 11 weeks longer than what maximum state benefits provide. Eliminating unemployment benefits severely impacts those jobless Americans that desperately need financial support, including many in the AAPI community, as they continue looking diligently for work.

​“Despite a strong bi-partisan effort, a small minority of Senators prevented vulnerable families from gaining the financial assistance they need,“ said Gregory Cendana, APALA Executive Director. “We must remind the Senators who voted no that struggling jobless workers need support in these times of hardship. Unemployment insurance benefits must be renewed immediately and APALA will continue to organize until this happens." 

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