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<p><font size="+1">Unemployment, 2016, especially in Idaho<br>
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<p><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/06/07/the-best-and-worst-states-to-be-unemployed-4/">http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/06/07/the-best-and-worst-states-to-be-unemployed-4/</a>
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<p>Unemployment in the United States has steadily improved over the
past six and a half years. The unemployment rate today is half its
mid-recession peak, and non-farm payroll employment has increased
for more than 60 straight months.</p>
<p>Despite the lower unemployment rate, millions of Americans still
continue to search for work without luck. To support themselves
and their families, many apply for unemployment insurance while
they remain out of work.</p>
<p>Unemployment is far from an ideal situation, but the prospects
for out-of-work residents depend a great deal on where they live.
In North Dakota, which has a very healthy job market, nearly 75%
of the jobless workforce receives benefits — at an average of
$520.64 weekly. In Louisiana, where work is generally harder to
come by, just 13.5% of the unemployed population receives benefits
— at an average of $217.64 weekly.</p>
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<p>Based on employment growth, unemployment rates, the proportion
of jobless residents receiving UI benefits, and the average
weekly UI payment, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the best and worst
states to be unemployed.</p>
<p>In no state does the entire unemployed population receive
unemployment insurance. A state’s recipiency rate, or share of
the unemployed population receiving UI benefits, depends on a
number of factors and varies greatly from state to state. In
Florida, the recipiency rate is just 10.2%, while in North
Dakota it is 74.0%, the highest share.</p>
<p>Recipiency depends on a number of factors, such as the state’s
UI eligibility requirements, state and federal funding, and the
public’s awareness about UI programs. In an interview with 24/7
Wall St., Claire McKenna, senior policy analyst at the National
Employment Law Project, explained that more restrictive UI
programs tend to have fewer unemployed residents who receive
benefits. “In states that have reduced benefit amounts and
duration and that have restricted eligibility, we have seen
reductions in recipiency,” she said.</p>
<p>States determine the amount a worker receives in benefits based
on a proportion of the wages earned at his or her last job. The
higher the lost wages, the higher the stipend. However, states
also set a maximum amount for how much can be doled out on a
weekly basis, ranging from $679 in Massachusetts to just $221 in
Louisiana, the highest and lowest benefit amounts respectively.
The maximum set in each state appears to also have a direct
impact on the average benefit amount. All 10 of states with the
lowest average weekly payments also have among the lowest
maximum weekly benefits set.</p>
<p>For those who are unemployed, just as important as the benefits
are the chances of finding a job before benefits run out. While
not a perfect measure, the unemployment rate can be a rough
indication of these chances. In states with higher unemployment
rates, job seekers will likely have a harder time finding work.
The same is true in states where employment is declining
meaningfully. On the other hand, in states with low unemployment
and healthy job growth, the prospects are likely better for the
unemployed.</p>
<p>Many of the worst states to be unemployed in today made drastic
cuts to their UI schemes in the aftermath of the Great
Recession. Since 2011, a number states have cut the maximum
durations people can receive unemployment benefits. North
Carolina, for example, reduced the maximum number of weeks a
recipient could stay on UI from 26 to just 13 weeks. “A number
of states favored benefit reductions and eligibility
restrictions at the expense of sensible financing reforms,”
McKenna said. As a result, in every state that cut benefits
availability by more than one week the recipiency rate declined
significantly.</p>
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<p><strong>7. Idaho<br>
>Pct. unemployed getting benefits:</strong> 25.3% (21st
lowest)<br>
<strong>> Pct. average weekly wage covered:</strong> 41.5%
(10th highest)<br>
<strong>> Unemployment rate:</strong> 3.7% (10th lowest)<br>
<strong>> 1-yr. job growth:</strong> 3.8% (the highest)</p>
<p>No state had greater job growth than Idaho over the past 12
months. Employment grew by 3.8%, twice the 1.9% national job
growth rate. At the same time, the state’s unemployment rate
dropped 0.5 percentage points to 3.7%, one of the lowest in the
country.</p>
<p>The average UI payment in Idaho accounts for 41.5% of the state’s
average weekly wage, more substantial substitution than the the
national 33.9% replacement rate. Idaho’s UI program services just
25.3% of the state’s unemployed, however, somewhat modest coverage
compared to the national 27.3% recipiency rate.</p>
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<p>Ken</p>
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