Why are recipients seeing unemployment benefits cut?
Faulty systems and indicators across the US are leaving some unemployment recipients without benefits at the very moment when they need them most.
SPENCER PLATT
AFP
US states have significant power over how and when they administer unemployment benefits. Often, they use macroeconomic indicators, like the percent of the total work force claiming unemployment benefits or the Insured Unemployment Rate (IUR), to
take decisions on whether benefit extensions are needed. The covid-19 pandemic led to historic levels of unemployment, and a new study found that these
high-level indicators do not always adequately respond to the unique needs of unemployed workers and the systems they rely on.