Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Jerry Oleksiak announced that people who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation and federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation may now qualify for 13 additional weeks of payments through the state’s Unemployment Compensation Extended Benefits program.

Extended Benefits are additional UC benefits payable to qualified workers whenever the state’s unemployment rate reaches a certain level determined by law. The last time the EB program was triggered in Pennsylvania was 2009.

The current EB period began May 3, but benefits are not payable until an individual has exhausted PEUC benefits. EB payments will begin with the week ending July 4, and are payable only for weeks of unemployment during an EB period.