Unemployment insurance payments are slower than they were pre-pandemic

Unemployment Insurance form with pen

The difference varies from one state to the next, but overall, things are slower since COVID-19 hit. Not long aver the pandemic hit, the rate of joblessness in the United States spiked, sending millions of people to seek unemployment insurance benefits. The systems in every state were required to issue checks following a spike in claims handling. Because there was a sudden and sharp influx of unemployment insurance claims, the systems in place to manage them were not prepared for the numbers. This left people waiting for weeks – or…

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Employer-sponsored health insurance for government workers evolving

Group Health Insurance

Employer-sponsored health insurance gap shortening between public and private sectors A new analysis from USA Today has found that many state and local governments throughout the country are saving significant amounts of money on employer-sponsored health insurance by cutting the benefits that are provided to workers. According to federal data, government workers typically have access to more generous health insurance benefits than those in the private sector. Several economic factors, such as a major recession, have encouraged states to make changes to the coverage they offer employees, in an attempt…

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