Helping the Jobless Helps Us All

A new report by Maurice Emsellem and Andrew Stettner of the National Employment Law Project, Lisa Donner of Half in Ten, and Alexandra Cawthorne of the Center for American Progress Action Fund provides insight into the current unemployment crisis and explains the necessity of immediate action.

“Helping the Jobless Helps Us All: The Central Role of Unemployment Insurance in America’s Economic Recovery” notes the high rates of unemployment on both the state and federal level - the national unemployment rate hit 6.5 percent in October, and is expected to continue rising - and the effect this has on the economy at large. Given the expected duration of the current economic crisis, the report emphasizes the need for Congress to extend and modernize unemployment insurance when it returns for its lame duck session.

Read the complete report.

Read more from the National Employment Law Project and learn about their Unemployed Workers initiative.

Read from NELP and the Center for Economic Policy Research about the alternative base period, a policy reform that makes it easier for low-wage workers to qualify for UI benefits.