Labor

Losing Unemployment Benefits.JPEG-0795a.jpg

In this Jan. 10, 2014 photo, Stan Osnowitz poses in his living room in Baltimore. A cutoff of unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed has left more than 1.3 million Americans with a stressful decision: What now? Osnowitz, 67, lost his state unemployment benefits of $430 a week in December. The money put gasoline in his car so he could look for work. An extra three months of benefits - one of the options Congress is debating in an effort to restore the federal program - would enable his job search to continue into the spring, when construction activity usually increases and more electrical jobs become available. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)