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florida unemployment insurance

New Research Shows Success of Florida’s Revolutionary Unemployment Insurance Reform

Naples. FL — After tying unemployment benefits to economic conditions in 2012, the amount of time Floridians spent on the program was cut in half, according to new research from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA). The innovative state reform helped reduce unemployment insurance (UI) costs and taxes in Florida by more than 70 percent.

The reform also helped Florida return their unemployment insurance program to solvency. At the end of 2011, Florida’s trust fund was still more than $1.7 billion in debt. By 2018, Florida’s unemployment trust fund had grown by $5.6 billion dollars. Altogether, Florida’s unemployment trust fund is nearly 70 percent more solvent than states that have not reformed their UI program.

The paper analyzes how similar reforms could play out on a national scale. If all states adopted similar UI reforms, up to 1.5 million new workers could be pulled into the labor force.

“Florida is pursuing bold policy solutions, and their decision to tie unemployment benefits to the economic conditions in the states is their latest major success,” said Jonathan Ingram, vice president of policy and research at FGA. “Our research shows that this reform is not only fiscally responsible, but an effective way to make sure more Floridians are able to experience the power of work.”

Read the full report here

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The Foundation for Government Accountability is a non-profit, multi-state think tank that specializes in health care, welfare, and work reform. To learn more, visit TheFGA.org

At FGA, we don’t just talk about changing policy—we make it happen.

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