2016 State Unemployment Insurance Report

Department of Labor Releases 2016 State Unemployment Insurance Report

American Staffing Association (02/26/16)  Toby Malara

The 2016 State Unemployment Insurance Report has been released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Unemployment Insurance.

As of the end of 2015, four states and jurisdictions (California, Connecticut, Ohio, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) still had outstanding loans to the federal government, totaling $7.36 billion. Six states (Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Texas) currently have outstanding private loan and debt service obligations totaling $8.3 billion.

Even though most states’ trust funds show positive balances, only 18 states have balances that meet or exceed DOL’s recommended solvency level. States without sufficient funds in their trust accounts likely would have to borrow money from the federal government in the event of another recession.

In his latest budget, President Obama recommended several proposed reforms to state unemployment insurance programs. One proposal would require states to provide at least 26 weeks of coverage while maintaining reserves in their UI trust fund accounts sufficient to provide benefits for at least six months of an average economic recession. While these provisions are unlikely to be adopted by this Congress, they may be part of a future administration’s agenda.

The DOL report is available at dol.gov.