TRENTON, NJ – The Christie Administration is reminding New Jerseyans who were left unemployed due to Hurricane Sandy that they have until February 4, 2013 to file an application for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA).

DUA was made available by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development immediately after the October 28, 2012 storm to affected individuals who did not qualify for regular Unemployment Insurance. Covering self-employed individuals and many hourly workers, the special federal assistance was made available to those who were living or working in the state at the time of the disaster and who were left unemployed as a direct result of the damages.

Anyone left unemployed because of Sandy may file for Unemployment Insurance benefits online at www.njuifile.net or by calling a New Jersey Reemployment Call Center at:

Union City: (201) 601-4100

Freehold: (732) 761-2020

Cumberland: (856) 507-2340

Out of State: (888) 795-6672

DUA can pay benefits for a period of up to 27 weeks after October 28, 2012. However, any DUA claims filed after the February 4, 2013 deadline may not be eligible for benefit payment. All DUA applications must be received or postmarked by the state Division of Unemployment Insurance on or before February 4, 2013. Of the 4,205 claims received by the Division of Unemployment Insurance to date, 2,058 are collecting the benefit, and another 1,189 are still under review.

Please note that you must first file for regular state Unemployment Insurance benefits before it can be determined if you qualify for DUA benefits.

DUA applications are available on the Division of Unemployment Insurance website at: http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/ui/aftrfile/dua.html

For information regarding other FEMA services please call the FEMA emergency number at 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) or 1-800-462-7585 (TTY) for the hearing and speech impaired.

More Information also is available at www.disasterassistance.gov and www.fema.gov.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s website is located at: www.nj.gov/labor.

Please visit http://careerconnections.nj.gov/, which is our official web-link to the best online tools for finding employment, sending resumes to potential employers and accessing data on new career paths and training.