Extended jobless benefits?

It's a sad thing to be happy about, a 6.2 percent unemployment rate. But if you're out of a job and receiving unemployment benefits, your unemployment check is expected to be extended for another 13 weeks.

On Thursday, the Utah Department of Workforce Services, using federal statistics, announced that unemployment in September was 6.2 percent — making it the third consecutive month with 6 percent or higher unemployment.

The federal government extends unemployment benefits by 13 weeks to states that have three consecutive months of 6 percent unemployment or higher.

Nothing's official, yet, however.

"The Department of Labor hasn't made the final announcement yet," said Utah Department of Workforce Services spokesman Curt Stewart. "They have to check the seasonally adjusted numbers and that won't happen for a week."

The U.S. Labor Department sometimes revises numbers after crunching them again, Stewart said.

An unemployment extension would be good news for Cory Thompson, who has been out of work for 18 months. Except Thompson's former employer, a construction company, didn't pay into the state unemployment fund, so Thompson cannot draw any benefits. Some small employers are exempt from paying unemployment insurance.

The father of six is currently fighting the bank to keep his house, has downsized from two family vehicles to one, and has received training to repair medical equipment for hospitals, clinics, doctors, chiropractors and veterinarians. His company, Intermountain Medical Service and Repair, is now open for business.

Thompson described the job center in his hometown of Tooele as having become cramped in the past year, with so many people looking for work there were lines to the computers, he said.

"You're dealing with kids graduating from college," he said. "You've got people who are recently unemployed. You have people who are my age, in their late 40s or early 50s, that companies — I don't want to say discriminate against — but they use words such as, 'You're overqualified for our position.' And that's a simple way of them telling you they don't want you. So it's a tough thing."

How unemployment works: The Department of Workforce Services provides eligible unemployed Utahns 26 weeks of unemployment. If recipients are unable to find work after 26 weeks, they can receive an extension, paid for by the federal government, of 20 weeks.

Pending federal approval, eligible unemployed Utahns may receive an extra 13 weeks in the next round of extensions, which will make unemployment benefits in Utah last for 59 weeks, a little over a year.

Some states with unemployment rates of 8 percent or higher can receive a total of 79 weeks.