Unemployed workers in Hawai'i may now get up to 73 weeks of jobless benefits because of additional federal aid made available under the Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009.

The bill made available an additional 14 weeks of unemployment payments to out-of-work individuals, adding on to the 59 weeks the jobless could qualify for here.

The additional benefits are being paid for by the federal government and would deplete the state's dwindling unemployment trust fund.

The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations said it had yet to determine how many people may be eligible for additional benefits and that it will be mailing out notices to people who may be eligible for the emergency unemployment compensation.

There were 46,900 unemployed persons in Hawai'i during September, when the statewide jobless rate was 7.2 percent, or among the highest rates in 30 years. Economists forecast unemployment will worsen before it gets better.

The state is scheduled to release its next unemployment report on Nov. 20, when jobless statistics for October will be disclosed.