There is great news for many Californians who can’t help but feel the grinding jaws of recession and who find it hard to find a new job—a bill extending unemployment benefits for 13 weeks has been approved by the Congress. So now, it’ll just need the approval of the Senate and the President before it becomes a law.

According to the Employment Development Department (EDD), around 170,000 Californians whose benefits will run out by the end of the year can jobless benefits paying $65 to $475 a week.

EDD officials estimate that 66,000 unemployed residents have already been cut off of California’s unemployment.

The extension is extremely beneficial for the many Californians who find it hard to get a new job in the market and with the unemployment rate still on the rise when it hit 12.2% in August.

The worldwide recession has hit a lot of Californians hard and many have lost their jobs when the employers began to cut the workforce to save on wages. While there are some who have found their feet back after taking a plunge in the tumultuous job market, more have yet to find new jobs and it is not because of a lack of effort.

Some people find it hard to find a new job because their skills and qualifications are not suited to the open positions and sometimes, there are just too many workers with too little available jobs.

Unemployment benefits give employees who are down on their luck, a little breathing room and relief for their family while they try to find gainful employment.

People shouldn’t be deprived of their basic necessities for their daily living just because they lost their job due to the bad economy. The passage of law extending unemployment benefits would give unemployed Californians and their family the chance to live their lives.

After all, if they don’t have money for food, gas, or other necessities, how can they find a job and work in the first place?