Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

BOSTON (AP) -- New federal rules will end the flow of people who travel to Massachusetts each year to claim some of the nation's most generous unemployment benefits.

Under the old rules, laid-off workers who earned wages in more than one state could file for unemployment in any state, as long as they did so in person. Nearly 8,000 people who never worked in Massachusetts filed for unemployment compensation here in 2007.

Massachusetts has the highest maximum weekly benefit in the nation, $628 plus $25 for each dependent, and pays initial benefits for longer than most states.

But beginning Jan. 6, workers can file unemployment claims only in states where they actually earned wages.

State officials told The Boston Globe the change will give unemployment assistance workers more time to work with Massachusetts residents.

 Tags  Massachusetts unemployment

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