Congress is likely to add an extra 13 weeks to the jobless benefits of those who are lucky enough to be unlucky enough to live in a state with particularly high unemployment. But if you don't live in one of the 27 where unemployment is running particularly high,, you'd be out of luck.

That means that Utahns — and those in 22 other states — who have searched diligently for work and have now been unemployed sometimes for more than a year would be penalized because their state's economy is not as rotten as another state's economy, although it's quite possible their personal finances are in tatters.

The logic of that eludes me. Unemployment may be 7 percent in one state, instead of 8.5 percent. But the men and women who lost the jobs are 100 percent unemployed. To them, that's the percentage that matters.

An estimated 5 million Americans, according to Labor Department statistics, have been jobless for at least 27 weeks and many of them for much longer than that. The newest extension would mean that some people receive benefits for as long as 92 weeks.

Those who cannot find work live not only in states like Alabama and California, Missouri, Nevada, Idaho, New York and Oregon, where benefits would be extended another quarter, but also in Utah, Wyoming, Colorado and New Hampshire, which are among the states where the added help would not be available.

I guess there's an assumption that if your state economy's a little better, you'll have more opportunity to get a job. But guess what? It's all theory until you get that job. And when you do find work, the benefits quit anyway, so there's really little logic to the carve-out. Shall we not feed people if most of those around them seem sated?

In the last six months, I've talked to many people who were laid off and can't find work, although they're searching hard. A number of people I know in Vernal, where unemployment is higher than most parts of Utah, spend hours every day contacting employers and searching online for openings. Some extended the search to all neighboring states and beyond but have come up empty.

To some degree, that's a matter of dumb luck, not lack of skill. When you have dozens and dozens of applicants for even jobs with mediocre salary and benefits, good candidates are going to lose out on a regular basis.

Much of the problem is invisible, unless you go down to the unemployment office and look around. And even then, you don't get anything approaching the magnitude, because you see only a portion of those seeking jobs.

This recession also has taught me why it's called "personal finance." In my 30 years of reporting, I've never encountered a topic about which people are so reluctant to speak. People will confide about their relationships and their medical problems a lot faster than they'll discuss money — whether they're broke or rich. If you want a challenge, try to find someone who will talk about bankruptcy, even if it resulted from something out of their control like medical bills. It's not something most people want others to know. I'm still looking.

The need to meet expenses is something everyone has. It's not like people in Utah or Wyoming don't need to buy food or medicine or make house and bill payments when times get tough. Federal employment policies have traditionally treated Americans as equals. That should not change.

Deseret News staff writer Lois M. Collins may be reached by e-mail at lois@desnews.com. Follow her on Twitter at loisco.