The state has started sending out extended unemployment benefit checks to Missourians who have exhausted their unemployment benefits during the last four months. The state is using 65 million federal stimulus dollars to provide 13 more weeks of unemployment benefits to people who’ve already used up their 59 weeks of state and federal eligibility.

State labor department officials think it could take as much as three weeks to get all of the checks out.

Department spokesman Amy Susan says some people ran out of benefits as far back as February. If they still are not working, they could get a check for 13 weeks ago at once. "For some people, this is the first time they’ve had money in their pockets," she says.

Susan says the list of eligible people is about 11-thousand…and growing. Some people might not be sure if they qualify for the additional payments. Susan’s advice: File. The department will check its records and determine eligibility.

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