NEW YORK, NY July 02, 2009 —Advocates for the unemployed say the political stalemate in Albany has cost jobless New Yorkers more than $250 million in new unemployment benefits.

Andrew Stettner is deputy director of the National Employment Law Project. He says a bill to raise jobless benefits, from $405 to $475 a week, was short-circuited at the last minute.

STETTNER: This is very timely which is why it's frustrating. There's some things that need to happen now. This is the relief that's badly needed in this economy, so waiting until the recession is over to increase unemployment benefits doesn't have the same economic impact.

Stettner says it's likely state lawmakers won't take up the bill until next year. Currently, unemployed New Yorkers receive $180 less per week than what workers get in New Jersey. New York State's unemployment rate reached a 16 year high in May, at 8.2 percent. The city's unemployment rate is 9 percent.