A report released today by the Center for State Policy Analysis (cSPA) at Tufts University’s Tisch College describes a range of evidence-based options for fixing Massachusetts’ troubled unemployment insurance (UI) system.
Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, unemployment insurance has provided much-needed income to laid-off workers and bolstered the state’s economic recovery. However, because Massachusetts didn’t set aside enough money to cover these benefits when economic times were good, it has borrowed over $2 billion from the federal government—a substantial debt that will ultimately need to be repaid by Massachusetts businesses.
Without some fundamental fixes to the state’s unemployment insurance program, it will be hard to break this cycle of underfunding and costly borrowing.