Unemployment is a state run program. It is not staffed by federal workers

@Christiep77 paid for by various federal agencies even though administered by states. if the agencies are not funded, the states have nothing with which to pay.

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@genessa Im currently a federal government employee. This is a partial shutdown and so not all of us are affected and unemployment is admistered by each individual state and is funded by unemployment taxes paid by employers through payroll taxes. Funds are not affected by the shutdown and are available to be paid.

@Christiep77 i am glad to hear it. i hope that continues to be true even though i hope the shutdown does NOT continue.

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@genessa me too. Even though I am not affected by this one, I have been affected by them in the past. Its esp hard on those of us who have to report to work without knowing when we will get paid. Those workers currently aren’t being paid and do not qualify for unemployment. Further they are still federal employees subject to their agency’s rules regarding seeking other employment. It can be very restrictive and difficult. I hope this ends very soon. Its not good for any of us, employed by the government or not.

@Christiep77 if it goes on for more than a month my guy and i may not get our food stamps, which are county-administered but federally funded.

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@genessa yeah thats one Im not sure about. Im in the union and I am getting lots of literature about this. I was reading somewhere that they are trying to put together a plan that will allow those funds to be released. I really hope that’s the case. I live an extremely rural economically depressed area and there are many families that depend on those benefits. I was also curious about the free lunch programs at schools?

I really hope you are able to get the benefits you need. Are there food pantries or other local assistance programs in your area?

@Christiep77 thanks! yes, we have a good food shelf in my town, and i have an appointment for next week, too! i've been to other food shelves and they're pretty much mostly bread and canned foods. at my food shelf we get fresh produce.

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@genessa that’s awesome! We have one here that does fresh fruits and veggies. I’m always so happy to hear those things are provided.

@Christiep77 i am diabetic. i would just die, literally, if i had to live on bread and canned food! not that canned, diced tomatoes with green chilies aren't awesome in a recipe, but come on, unless you're in a bomb shelter, in which case you've got bigger problems already, you can't live on canned food.

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It’s a state government office.