one of them will be bill boteler. we first introduced you to bill almost a year ago when he had already been unemployed for several months. today he still is looking for work. now as we revisit him, bill tells us how he's keeping his spirits up and planning for an uncertain future s. darren gersh reports. >> it's the top one. open it up. they gave me $290. >> reporter: for almost two years bill boteler has relied on a weekly unemployment insurance check. not to make ends meet but to get them a little closer. >> this to me is like a cushion. to try to live off this is challenging. >> reporter: when we first met boteler almost a year ago he hadn't had a perm nant job for 10 months. since then he's tried to keep his credit up which he says is important when you're searching for work. he's now looking for a cheaper apartment and boteler says his weekly benefit check helps him focus on finding a job. >> if you put the two together-- that you don't have enough money to pay for anything and you are having to face a lot of re