More than 20,000 Pennsylvanians are expected to exhaust their jobless benefits in mid-July.

The state Department of Labor and Industry expects them to be the first large wave of people who have gone through as many as 72 weeks of unemployment benefits. Labor and Industry Department Deputy Secretary Patrick Beaty says the agency sent letters to 21,000 people last week notifying them.He says there is still no letup in applications for benefits, and the agency does not expect the rising unemployment rate to ease in the coming months. The department says an average of nearly 450,000 Pennsylvanians received benefits over the four weeks ending June 20.

Since the recession began in December 2007, Pennsylvania has lost more than 180,000 jobs, or one in every 32.