Unemployment Benefits Raised and Unemployment Insurance Taxes Lowered

Thanks to a stable unemployment trust fund balance and the passage of Act 169 in Louisiana’s 2008 regular legislative session, as of January 1, 2009, Louisiana unemployment weekly benefits have risen and its unemployment insurance taxes have been lowered.

Act 169 provided that when the unemployment insurance trust fund balance exceeded $1.4 billion, the weekly unemployment benefits would increase from a maximum of $258 to $284 and employers paying taxes on the first $7,000 of a worker’s income would get a 10% tax cut.  These provisions of the legislation went into effect because the current balance of the unemployment trust fund is $1.45 billion.

According to this same legislation, when the fund dips below $1.4 billion, the benefits and the taxes will return to their original levels.