Americans will soon be receiving billions of dollars in rebates as part of an economic stimulus package.

But such payments are not due for another month or longer and may do little to help those who will soon run out of their unemployment benefits at a time when jobless rolls are rising.

Employers slashed 80,000 jobs in March, the third monthly cutback in a row. It brought the national unemployment rate to 5.1 percent, the highest since the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. So far, 232,000 jobs have been lost since the beginning of the year.

At the same time, unemployed workers are losing or close to losing what may be their only source of income to support their families or pay rising mortgage, fuel and food costs during an economic slowdown that makes it more difficult to find work.

Since March of last year, 2.7 million recipients saw their benefits expire after 26 weeks. Democrats in Congress are meeting White House opposition to a proposal to extend the benefits by 13 weeks in most states and up to 26 weeks in states with high unemployment rates.

Similar extensions were granted in 1990 and 2002. President Bush rejected a 13-week benefit extension in the stimulus package approved in February. He did so again Monday, calling on Congress to "give the pro-growth package that was passed overwhelmingly a chance to work."

But that will take time to be felt and for cautious employers to add jobs to meet a presumed increase in demand. That demand depends on Americans spending their rebate on new goods and services.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that extending benefits would cost $1 billion to $2 billion a month, which could be funded from the government's $35 billion unemployment trust fund.

In contrast to long-term programs, extending the unemployment benefits is an immediate stimulus and will maintain the safety net for hundreds of thousands of struggling families.