Topeka ? Kansans receiving unemployment benefits are now eligible for up to 13 additional weeks of support.

That’s because the state’s jobless rate has been 6.5 percent or higher for three consecutive months. Under a federal stimulus program, states that have such consecutive high rates qualify for the additional support.

In July, the Kansas unemployment rate was 7.7 percent, up from 7.1 percent in June and 6.9 percent in May.

The state labor department is mailing information out to potentially eligible Kansans, including those who have exhausted two tiers of federal emergency unemployment benefits.