Unemployment insurance is broken. How can it be fixed?

Nov 18, 2020
When tens of millions of workers were laid off and applied for benefits in the spring, the system crashed. Here are some ideas for making it work better.
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You can still get unemployment benefits after state payments run out

Oct 15, 2020
The federal government is funding 13 additional weeks of unemployment benefits after state payments run out, but getting them can take extra effort.
The CARES Act gives people the opportunity for a 13-week extension after state unemployment benefits end.
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What you need to know about Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation

And what happens when the PEUC program expires at the end of the year?
People lining up to file unemployment claims in Calexico, California, in July.
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The pandemic threatens to push more people in Mexico into poverty

Oct 1, 2020
And Mexico doesn't pay unemployment insurance.
One economic researcher says almost 1 in 5 people in the Mexican labor force have lost their jobs. Pictured: Andres Tolentino Hernandez, who lost his job at a printing workshop when the virus hit.
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This fall, back-to-school may block back-to-work for many parents

Aug 18, 2020
Working parents with schoolkids at home due to COVID-19 should be eligible for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. But that's not working out for some.
Parents with children at home due to COVID-19 are supposed to receive aid from the CARES Act. But it's not working for a lot of working parents.
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Black, Latino workers much more likely to have unemployment claims rejected, analysis finds

Jul 31, 2020
Black and Latino workers made up nearly 40% of the unemployed, but were less than 20% of aid recipients.
Analysis from the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington think tank, finds that Black and Latino workers are having their unemployment claims rejected at disproportionately higher rates, compared to white workers.
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Some unemployed workers must prove they're looking for jobs to get benefits

Jul 22, 2020
States had suspended the requirement in the early weeks of the crisis, but some have now brought it back.
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For public good, not for profit.

China's forced-out workers

Jun 3, 2020
Chinese workers complain that shortened hours or being told to resign are layoffs by another name.
A masked factory worker works on a machine line.
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Millions of Americans are waiting for their jobs to come back. They might not.

May 29, 2020
Almost one in four business owners worry their companies won't survive the pandemic, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey.
A boarded-up restaurant in San Francisco. Many layoffs that were believed to be temporary may become permanent, especially those involving higher-cost workers.
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Unemployment benefits have expanded, but state systems aren't ready

Apr 7, 2020
Gig workers and self-employed now qualify, but accessing payments is still a challenge.
Unemployment benefits have been extended to self-employed people — like a barbershop owner in California — but the application is still confusing. Above, a closed barbershop in Boston.
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