Looking for work in Massachusetts? Try the unemployment office

No I'm talking about just going to the Massachusetts' unemployment office to collect your unemployment insurance check and find some other employer---I'm talking about that according to Boston.com, the state's unemployment is hiring 60 more workers to deal with the flood of unemployment claims.

In December the department increased headcount by 100% going from 75 people to 150 strong. Now they are hiring another 60 people, who after 6 weeks of training will be helping to answer questions over the phone.

New York State adds $2 Billion to its unemployment insurance budget

According to the New York Times the state of New York as increased its budget for paying out unemployment insurance claims by $2 Billion... Now the Budget is $5 Billion/year vs $3 Billion/year.

This is because there is now 420,000+ New Yorkers collecting unemployment vs 175,000 New Yorkers last year---and this number is rising by ~25,000 each and every week as New York's unemployment rate hits 7% last month.

The maximum weekly unemployment insurance benefit in New York is $405. Which is lower than it's neighboring states--New Jersey ($584), Connecticut ($576) and Massachusetts ($628)

15 States see 15%++ surge in food stamp demand

Earlier I blogged about the increase in food stamp usage in California, well things aren't that much better in the rest of the United States.

According to the USDA there are 15 states that experienced a 15%++ uptick in the number of households that receive food stamps (comparing October 2008 to October 2007).


Click on Chart for Larger Image

Some of the states with the highest populations (and highest unemployment rates) also saw big increases in the number of people on food stamps. Notably, Texas (up 30%), Florida(up 26%), California (up 16%) and New York (up 16%).

You should expect that when new data is released showing December 2008 vs. December 2007, there will be even more states on this list.

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Massachusetts' unemployment rate jumps to almost 7%

According to boston.com Massachusetts' unemployment rate for December 2008 jumped one full percentage point in December, 2008.

It is now 6.9%, compared to 5.9% in November, 2008.

Maximum Unemployment Insurance Benefit by State

Today Business Week published a slide show that shows the Maximum Unemployment Insurance Benefit by state. I decided to show the "Top-10" and "Bottom-10" states, according to Business Week.

*Note---Some States had a range for "Maximum Benefits", but most had a single value. Massachusetts for example was shown as "$600 - $900/week"---I have plotted, the high end of the range. I believe that some states may pay more to people with families than to single workers with no dependents.

The 20 States with the highest unemployment rates in November 2008

1. In November 2008, there were 20 states with unemployment rates greater than 5%. And 9 states (+ the District of Columbia) have unemployment rates greater than the national average. In November 2008, there were 20 states with unemployment rates greater than 5%. And 9 states (+ the District of Columbia) have unemployment rates greater than the national average.

The States with the highest unemployment rates in November were:

• Michigan--9.6%
• Rhode Island--9.3%
• California--8.4%
• South Carolina--8.4%
• Oregon--8.1%
• Washington DC--8.0%
• Nevada--8.0%
• North Carolina--7.9%
• Georgia--7.5%
• Florida--7.3%
• New York--6.1%
• Massachusetts--5.9%
• Colorado--5.8%
• Arkansas--5.7%
• Idaho--5.7%
• Texas--5.7%
• Vermont--5.7%
• Delaware--5.6%
• Wisconsin--5.6%
• Louisiana--5.3%
• Maryland--5.3%