Unemployment, costly houses a bad mix
This has been one tough year. The economy is in a freefall that seems to grow worse by the day. At the same time, the housing market is staggering, with sellers struggling to move houses and buyers seemingly unwilling to commit to buying any home that’s for sale.
The fact that the nation’s unemployment rate is steadily rising only makes matters worse. And here’s how: According to a story in the Seattle Post Intelligencer, employees in Seattle who have lost their jobs can’t rely on their unemployment benefits to keep the roofs over their heads. Yes, it’s another bad news from the housing and economy front, just in time for Christmas morning.
Here’s the problem: The median homeowner in Seattle pays $2,108 for in rent and utilities, according to the Post Intelligencer story. The maximum state unemployment benefit, though, is only $515 a week. That equals $2,060 to $2,575 a month. In those months where only four weekly benefit checks are passed out, there isn’t enough money to pay the bills, the story says.
The story goes on to highlight the plight of a restaurant manager who lost her job when the restaurant she was working in closed. She spends nearly her entire unemployment payment on her health insurance premiums. It’s part of a program that lets laid-0ff workers keep their former jobs’ medical benefits for a specific period of time, as long as they make the payments themselves.
Renters and homeowners in Seattle are far from alone in facing this challenge. Unemployment is still rising, as companies slash jobs to keep their profits solid. Problem is, most people don’t have safety nets available if they should lose their jobs. It doesn’t take long, then, for more problems to pop up. Before long, foreclosure is on the horizon.
Our economy is a shaky one these days. And there are more people at risk of losing their homes than you’d think. It’s time that the federal government or state governments did something concrete, something real, to help these homeowners.
