According to allheadlinenews.com the state of North Carolina started this week with $16million of cash in its unemployment insurance fund...
Since it paid out $160million in insurance benefit payments last month, that means that it's a matter of days before the state of North Carolina will have to start borrowing from the feds to keep the unemployment insurance checks coming.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Michigan may have to increase its unemployment insurance tax on businesses
According to Crains Detroit the state of Michigan will likely face higher taxes on businesses in order to compensate for the bulging borrowings to pay for unemployment insurance claims.
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LANSING - Michigan employers will face higher federal unemployment taxes next year if the state doesn't repay the federal government loans used to pay unemployment insurance benefits.
The outstanding loans have ballooned to more than $1 billion, and are likely to go higher, as state unemployment continues to climb.
The higher taxes would be used to help repay the loans. Some employers already were assessed higher taxes by the state last month to help defray the interest.
If Michigan or any other state has an outstanding loan balance for two consecutive years, there is an automatic increase in the federal unemployment tax that all employers pay. The tax would continue to increase each year the loans aren't repaid.
The situation has some business interests and state officials looking to Washington for help.
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State's UI debt may mean higher taxes
Business groups, state look for fed help
By Amy Lane
 |
LANSING - Michigan employers will face higher federal unemployment taxes next year if the state doesn't repay the federal government loans used to pay unemployment insurance benefits.
The outstanding loans have ballooned to more than $1 billion, and are likely to go higher, as state unemployment continues to climb.
The higher taxes would be used to help repay the loans. Some employers already were assessed higher taxes by the state last month to help defray the interest.
If Michigan or any other state has an outstanding loan balance for two consecutive years, there is an automatic increase in the federal unemployment tax that all employers pay. The tax would continue to increase each year the loans aren't repaid.
The situation has some business interests and state officials looking to Washington for help.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Pennsylvania adds capacity to it's unemployment insurance office
According to the morning call Pennsylvania is adding 300 people to work at its unemployment insurance offices and call centers, and plans on hiring another 200 people in the near future as well.
To deal with the influx of claims, the state added about 300 temporary employees to a core staff of 600 employees at its eight regional call centers, including one in Allentown, said David Smith, a spokesman for the state Department of Labor & Industry.
The temporary workers earn a wage of $14.38 an hour. The state's eventual goal is to have around 1,100 temporary and full-time employees available to help the jobless navigate their way through the bureaucracy. Some of the new workers include retired state employees who had previously worked in the call centers.
Last month, the Rendell administration announced that it was keeping the call centers open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Sundays. The centers are open daily 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and are closed on Saturday. "By expanding the hours and days for the call-in number, we are continuing to find ways to help our citizens get the financial support they need in these times of economic uncertainty," acting Labor & Industry Secretary Sandi Vito said in a written statement.
The fastest way to register for benefits, officials said, is online at the L&I Web page, http://www.dli.state.pa.us. Jobless state residents can also call 1-888-313-7284 to submit their applications for benefits. When they lose their jobs, Pennsylvanians can initially receive up to 26 weeks of state-funded unemployment benefits. After that, they are eligible for up to 33 weeks of federally funded emergency unemployment compensation, Smith said.
World Unemployment Rate
The folks at EconomicPic Data today published a very interesting post on the unemployment rate by country according to the CIA's world fact book.
The nuts & bolts of it, is that by comparison, the United States' unemployment rate of 7.2% (December 2008) is low compared to much of the rest of the world.
Click on Image for larger view
The nuts & bolts of it, is that by comparison, the United States' unemployment rate of 7.2% (December 2008) is low compared to much of the rest of the world.
Click on Image for larger view
The feds could be subsidizing your COBRA insurance payment in the future
According to this article the congress could be considering:
Under a dramatic, temporary expansion of COBRA, the law that lets the unemployed keep health insurance from their old job for up to 18 months if they pay for it in full, costs would drop by about two-thirds for a year.
Moreover, people who lose a job they've had for 10 years could stay on COBRA at their expense all the way to age 65, when Medicare takes over, if they don't get another job with insurance first. People 55 and over could do the same without meeting the 10-year requirement.
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