Jobless face benefits loss

Next April, 18,000 Oregonians will stop receiving unemployment benefits en masse as extension programs expire.

Each week, 1,000 people receive their last checks, a number that is expected to reach 2,000 this fall.

[David] Walker didn't fret when he lost his job during economic boom times. The layoff was no surprise for the 20-year telecom veteran. The California native had expected as much since 2006, when Integra Telecom bought Electric Lightwave, his employer of nine years.

After the housing crash, Walker cranked out job applications ever more urgently. He landed not a single interview, even for $10-an-hour warehouse jobs.

As expected, David Walker's last unemployment check arrived in June. He had fallen through the government safety net, a fate he could not have imagined three years before.

Read more at OregonLive.com.

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