Most of Unemployed No Longer Receiving Benefits Yet Can’t Get Employed Unless Already Employed

Currently, America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.  Moreover, nearly two million out-of-work Americans will be cut off from federal unemployment insurance in January alone unless Congress renews the programs before they expire on December 31st, according to a recent report from the National Employment Law Project (NELP), and more than six million could face premature cut-off over the course of 2012.

Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent - a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more.

Congress is expected to decide by year's end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.

Here's the kicker: Some businesses and recruitment firms are telling would-be job seekers that they can’t get a job unless they already have a job.

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Legislation to renew federal unemployment insurance for 2012 has been introduced in U.S. House and Senate