The unemployment insurance system is in crisis due to a combination skyrocketing unemployment and – in some cases – poor planning. A record 20 million Americans collected unemployment benefits last year, and thirty states have run out of funds and been forced to borrow from the federal government, raise taxes, or cut benefits. In many other states the situation is deteriorating fast. Using near real-time data on state revenues and the benefits they pay out, we estimate how long state trust funds will hold up. Click on a state to find the latest, plus historical data, and details on tax increases and benefit cuts. Related Story. (Last update February 03, 2011)
This news application is no longer being updated as of February 3, 2011. The historical data is still accurate.
| Bankrupt and Borrowing: The state's unemployment fund is currently bankrupt and the state is borrowing from the federal government. | |
| In Trouble: The state's unemployment fund will likely be depleted in six months or less. | |
| In the Clear: The state's unemployment fund is solvent. |
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We built a formula! For details, check out our Nerd Page.
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| State | Trust Fund (millions) |
Borrowing (millions) |
6 Month Projection (millions) * |
Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ala. | $8.0 | $229.8 | Loading ... | |
| Alaska | $245.4 | $292.7m | Loading ... | |
| Ariz. | $11.0 | $281.6 | Loading ... | |
| Ark. | $51.8 | $330.9 | Loading ... | |
| Calif. | $91.1 | $9,979.2 | Loading ... | |
| Colo. | $10.4 | $483.3 | Loading ... | |
| Conn. | $39.7 | $619.2 | Loading ... | |
| Del. | $1.3 | $42.3 | Loading ... | |
| D.C. | $300.7 | $239.5m | Loading ... | |
| Fla. | $103.0 | $2,072.2 | Loading ... | |
| Ga. | $19.9 | $611.5 | Loading ... | |
| Hawaii | $2.8 | $28.3 | Loading ... | |
| Idaho | $105.4 | $202.4 | Loading ... | |
| Ill. | $1.5 | $2,595.0 | Loading ... | |
| Ind. | $18.1 | $2,040.7 | Loading ... | |
| Iowa | $310.0 | $239.8m | Loading ... | |
| Kan. | $43.4 | $100.7 | Loading ... | |
| Ky. | $9.1 | $854.5 | Loading ... | |
| La. | $895.6 | $637.1m | Loading ... | |
| Maine | $278.7 | $199.4m | Loading ... | |
| Md. | $199.9 | Insolvent | Loading ... | |
| Mass. | $18.2 | $135.0 | Loading ... | |
| Mich. | $188.0 | $3,697.0 | Loading ... | |
| Minn. | $8.9 | $564.7 | Loading ... | |
| Miss. | $339.7 | $152.3m | Loading ... | |
| Mo. | $18.5 | $784.8 | Loading ... | |
| Mont. | $112.0 | $89.4m | Loading ... | |
| Neb. | $215.3 | $180.5m | Loading ... | |
| Nev. | $32.0 | $674.8 | Loading ... | |
| N.H. | $4.3 | $1.9 | Loading ... | |
| N.J. | $35.8 | $1,608.2 | Loading ... | |
| N.M. | $224.9 | $122.2m | Loading ... | |
| N.Y. | $34.7 | $3,369.2 | Loading ... | |
| N.C. | $225.7 | $2,592.8 | Loading ... | |
| N.D. | $96.3 | $122.1m | Loading ... | |
| Ohio | $104.1 | $2,361.5 | Loading ... | |
| Okla. | $269.4 | Insolvent | Loading ... | |
| Ore. | $910.6 | $822.9m | Loading ... | |
| Pa. | $94.1 | $3,292.5 | Loading ... | |
| R.I. | $37.2 | $225.5 | Loading ... | |
| S.C. | $7.0 | $926.3 | Loading ... | |
| S.D. | $25.8 | $50.9m | Loading ... | |
| Tenn. | $159.5 | Insolvent | Loading ... | |
| Texas | $292.9 | Insolvent | Loading ... | |
| Utah | $312.7 | $126.6m | Loading ... | |
| Vt. | $1.4 | $50.2 | Loading ... | |
| Va. | $63.3 | $396.3 | Loading ... | |
| Wash. | $2,392.3 | $1,961.6m | Loading ... | |
| W.Va. | $76.8 | Insolvent | Loading ... | |
| Wis. | $39.5 | $1,500.0 | Loading ... | |
| Wyo. | $124.3 | $103.2m | Loading ... |
* When a state borrows to bolster its trust fund, future trust fund balance predictions are no longer valid. See the Nerd Page for info.
Reporters: You are free to use this data to report your stories. Just remember to credit Propublica. Click through to individual states, and you can get a CSV download of its unemployment data.