UPDATE 1-US House Republicans block longer jobless benefits

(Adds House to vote again on Thursday in third paragraph)

By Richard Cowan

WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday blocked an effort by Democrats to quickly pass an extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

Even though a large majority of the House, 279-144, voted for the measure, it fell three votes short of the two-thirds vote needed under special rules for passing the bill, which would have extended jobless benefits for those who exhaust the usual 26 weeks of state benefits.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, a Maryland Democrat, said the bill will be brought back to the floor on Thursday under rules requiring only a simple majority for passage. If it does pass, the Senate would then consider it.

The vote came just days after the government reported that the U.S. unemployment rate jumped to 5.5 percent in May, its highest level in more than 3-1/2 years.

About four dozen Republicans broke ranks with President George W. Bush and supported the measure amid deepening election-year concerns about the stagnant U.S. economy.

The White House issued a veto warning shortly before the House vote, saying it would instead support an extension of benefits targeted to states with the worst unemployment.

During House debate of the measure, Democrats bemoaned the condition of the economy, with some tying fiscal problems to the war in Iraq, which has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars.