Unemployment Insurance

May 23, 2023

Cutting unemployment benefits is punitive and unnecessary

Unemployment benefits are essential to the public safety net and provide critical financial support to Louisiana workers when they lose their job due to no fault of their own. But a bill working its way through the Legislature – House Bill 340 by Rep.… Read more...

April 14, 2022

Legislature must avoid UI reforms that hurt workers

Louisiana’s unemployment insurance system is supposed to protect workers who lose their job through no fault of their own by providing support to help make ends meet while they look for work or retrain for a new occupation. But Louisiana’s unemployment benefits are notoriously skimpy, with average weekly benefits that are currently the lowest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  … Read more...

October 5, 2021

Louisiana needs the feds to step up

The Covid-19 pandemic caused tremendous economic and personal hardship in Louisiana in 2020. Devastating job and wage losses due to the pandemic would have driven tens of thousands of our neighbors into poverty. Instead, robust government aid and a strong safety net actually lowered poverty during the pandemic, according to the latest data from the U.S.… Read more...

September 15, 2021

LBP Census 2020: Pandemic aid helped reduce poverty, but need for more aid remains critical

The Covid-19 pandemic caused tremendous hardship in 2020. But timely federal aid and safety net programs dampened the blow and effectively kept millions of Americans out of poverty, according to the latest U.S. Census data. Louisiana, though, has suffered through a string of natural disasters in addition to the pandemic.… Read more...