The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is warning the approximately 30,000 unemployment claimants who are receiving federally extended unemployment insurance that they are facing the abrupt end of those benefits when the program expires January 2, 2013. Congress created the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program in 2008 to provide unemployment benefits to workers who have exhausted the first 26 weeks of state benefits (maximum). The original legislation has been amended 10 times since it became effective July 6, 2008. “We want to alert claimants that they are fast approaching the end of federal extended benefits,” said Labor Commissioner Karla Davis. “EUC08 assistance was created as a stopgap measure for the long-term jobless until they could get work. With that ending in a couple weeks, we encourage claimants to use Jobs4TN.gov and to visit one of our Career Centers across the state for help in finding jobs.”