A lifeline of extended unemployment benefits on Monday started reaching the first of about 47,000 jobless North Carolina workers caught for seven weeks in a partisan political conflict, but questions persisted about whether Gov. Beverly Perdue had the authority to unfreeze the money.

Under the plan the committee recommended 11-5, laid-off workers would have to wait a week before receiving unemployment benefits starting in January. The move would reduce benefits by $41 million to $56 million a year.

In rare Saturday session, the state House and Senate held brief meetings to send a controversial bill linking the state budget and unemployment benefits to Gov. Bev Perdue.

States had over $48.3 billion in loans from the federal government for unemployment insurance.  States owe the federal government over $500 million in interest on these loans.

The entire House Appropriations Committee - Democrats and Republicans - will stand behind the $4.8 billion budget bill it has wrestled to write for the past 2½ months.

The federal government is helping some states shore up their unemployment-insurance funds and President Barack Obama wants to do more, but states in better shape aren't getting the help. Is that fair?

The duration and depth of the current recession reveals the risks associated with the federal-state unemployment insurance programs. Unemployment insurance programs in the states have been approaching insolvency for more than a decade, putting pressure on states to raise payroll taxes, cut benefits, or seek federal loans.

Less than half of Delawareans receive unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their job. The claims process is time consuming and demeaning for many. Errors in payment and outright fraud waste millions. There is a better way. Personal Unemployment Accounts (UA), run like a 401K or IRA, can provide an attractive alternative.

Unemployment rates in the states were little changed in August 2011, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on September 16, 2011. 

The duration and depth of the current recession reveals the risks associated with the federal-state unemployment insurance programs. Unemployment insurance programs in the states have been approaching insolvency for more than a decade, putting pressure on states to raise payroll taxes, cut benefits, or seek federal loans.

The Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) provides for a loan fund for state unemployment programs to ensure a continued flow of benefits during times of economic downturn. 30 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands are currently borrowing to cover unemployment benefits. Five states, Maryland, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas, have repaid their loans in full. This report lists the most recent balances of outstanding state loans.

Unemployment Insurance reforms should be considered, including eliminating the "firewall" between administrative costs and benefits, reducing cross-subsidies to high-layoff employers, and relying more on face-to-face training and advising. More significant reforms that could be considered include adopting elements of state workers' compensation programs and experimenting with individual accounts.

Less than half of Delawareans receive unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their job. The claims process is time consuming and demeaning for many. Errors in payment and outright fraud waste millions. There is a better way. Personal Unemployment Accounts (UA), run like a 401K or IRA, can provide an attractive alternative.

Both Federal and State Governments are responsible for UI. Federal law imposes an unemployment tax on employers, but provides that they may receive credit against most of the tax
if their State has an approved UI program. This tax offset approach provided the original incentive for all States to enact UI laws.

Cascade seeks to initiate a pilot program that would allow employers and workers in Oregon to opt-out of the mandatory UI system and participate in an alternative arrangement of Individual Asset Accounts (IAAs).