BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The failure by Congress to extend an emergency jobless benefits package could affect up to 61,000 unemployed Louisiana residents.

That's according to Jay Augustine, deputy executive director of the  Louisiana Workforce Commission.

Who loses benefits and when depends upon several factors, including whether a jobless resident is already on the federal emergency program or still receiving initial benefits from the state program.

Currently, an unemployed worker in Louisiana is first eligible for 26 weeks of benefits under a state-administrated program. After that, another 47 weeks are available from a three-tiered emergency federal program. Augustine says those in the federal program would see their benefits cut short — and state recipients couldn't move to the federal program.

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