Unemployment fund running out of money

From NBC Connecticut.

If the national economy goes on a downward trend over the next year, Connecticut is not likely to have enough money to cover unemployment benefits for those making existing claims or filing for the first time.

The warning came from the Connecticut Department of Labor for the incoming Lamont administration, which will take office in January.

Labor and business advocates, who help to advise the department when it comes to labor and unemployment issues, both agree that the Unemployment Trust Fund is approaching insolvency, but they disagree on how to solve the problem.

“It just hasn’t kept pace with the increase in wages,” said Sue Garten, with Greater Hartford Legal Aid, who points out that the taxes employers pay which fund benefits haven’t been adjusted since 1999.

Unemployment benefits are paid by employers, and those employers argue that many of the people receiving benefits shouldn’t be eligible to begin with, because they have only met the lowest possible threshold of $600 in income for the year, a figure not adjusted since 1968. Other states range from $2,000 to $5,000.

See the complete story from NBC Connecticut online.