Unemployment Insurance Program Changes by State in 2010
Due to record high unemployment claims and in many cases poor financial planning, 25 states have run out of funds and been forced to borrow from the federal government, raise taxes or cut benefits. Increasingly, those fiscal woes are landing at the doorstep of business owners and unemployed workers. Employers in 36 states face unemployment insurance tax increases ranging from a few dollars to nearly $1,000 per worker for 2010, and six states have taken steps to cut back or freeze benefits.
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| State | 2010 Estimated Average Tax (per worker) |
Increase (per worker) from 2009 |
Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $267 | $148 | No change |
| Alaska | $447 | $71 | No change |
| Arizona | $146 | $No tax increase | No change |
| Arkansas | $300 | $41 | Before, workers fired for misconduct lost eight weeks of unemployment eligibility. A new law bans them from receiving benefits altogether if they file before June 2011. |
| California | $344 | $No tax increase | No change |
| Colorado | $236* | $73 | No change |
| Connecticut | $555 | $No tax increase | No change |
| Delaware | $273* | $No tax increase | No change |
| District of Columbia | n/a | $No tax increase | No change |
| Florida | $312 | $208 | No change |
| Georgia | $213* | $69 | No change |
| Hawaii | $1,070 | $980 | No change |
| Idaho | $816 | $467 | No change |
| Illinois | $323 | $22 | No change |
| Indiana | $385 | $170 | Workers will lose up to 43 percent of their benefit amount if they turn down jobs the state considers suitable. It will be harder for workers to claim jobs are unsuitable simply because they pay significantly less than the worker's former job. |
| Iowa | $468* | $89 | No change |
| Kansas | $350 | $188 | No change |
| Kentucky | $336* | $No tax increase | No change |
| Louisiana | $111 | $14 | No change |
| Maine | $328 | $140 | No change |
| Maryland | $422 | $259 | No change |
| Massachusetts | n/a | $No tax increase | No change |
| Michigan | $522* | $21 | No change |
| Minnesota | $450 | $55 | No change |
| Mississippi | n/a | $No tax increase | No change |
| Missouri | $267 | $No tax increase | No change |
| Montana | $482 | $201 | No change |
| Nebraska | $300 | $187 | No change |
| Nevada | $354 | $No tax increase | No change |
| New Hampshire | $332 | $138 | Unemployed workers will face a one-week waiting period for benefits in 2010. |
| New Jersey | $896* | $327 | No change |
| New Mexico | n/a | $No tax increase | No change |
| New York | $349 | $29 | No change |
| North Carolina | $328 | $No tax increase | No change |
| North Dakota | $333 | $89 | No change |
| Ohio | $270 | $4 | No change |
| Oklahoma | $206* | $No tax increase | No change |
| Oregon | $646 | $211 | No change |
| Pennsylvania | $432 | $48 | All unemployed workers in their first 26 weeks of benefits will have their amount reduced by 2.3 percent. |
| Rhode Island | $675 | $47 | No change |
| South Carolina | n/a | No change | |
| South Dakota | $227 | $149 | No change |
| Tennessee | $293 | $96 | No change |
| Texas | $165 | $76 | No change |
| Utah | $56 | $No tax increase | No change |
| Vermont | $329 | $90 | Legislators voted to axe a scheduled increase in the maximum benefit to $438 from $425. The freeze will remain in effect until Vermont stops borrowing. |
| Virginia | $171 | $75 | Out-of-work seniors who also collect Social Security will see their unemployment benefits cut by half the Social Security amount. |
| Washington | $850 | $No tax increase | No change |
| West Virginia | $348 | $132 | Benefits in the state have been frozen at the current range of $24 to $424 until the trust fund reaches $220 million, which won't be anytime soon. |
| Wisconsin | $384 | $72 | No change |
| Wyoming | $581 | $237 | No change |