extended unemployment benefits

For the nearly 14 million Americans who want to work and can't find jobs, unemployment insurance is a vital lifeline. But how much help that lifeline is varies widely from state to state. We crunched the numbers to see which states are the best -- and worst -- places to be unemployed.

As lawmakers battle over proposals to extend jobless benefits for many long-term out-of-work Americans, economists on both sides weigh in on whether those payments are an effective way to help get the economy back on track.