Officially, the recession is over. But, trying telling that to ever increasing ranks of the unemployed.

That fact triggered U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) to recently co-sponsor a bill to extend unemployment benefits for an additional 14 weeks for jobless workers in all 50 states whose benefits were due to expire between now and January 1, 2010.

Of the two million Americans in that category, at least 13,000 are Virginians, according to Webb. In my view this extension is necessary to the well-being of our workers, he said.

The legislation also includes provisions to invigorate the housing market and alleviate losses incurred by businesses due to the lagging economy. In the latter case it expands the net operating loss provision, allowing businesses to apply 2008 and 2009 losses against income earned in any of the past five years, Webb noted.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an estimated 270,000 workers in Virginia are unemployed.