A red and white sign in a window reads “NOW HIRING” in bold white letters, with an orange Boost Mobile box behind it.
Erin Macey of the Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute says the state’s unemployment benefits do not cover essential living costs such as rent and car payments. She argues that supporting people during unemployment benefits everyone.
Hoosiers out of work can currently receive up to $390 a week for a maximum of six months through Indiana’s unemployment insurance program. The Institute believes both the length of the program and the weekly benefit cap should increase to help job seekers meet basic needs while searching for work.
“If they are not supported, that’s a mortgage that’s not getting paid, that’s a car that’s getting repossessed, that’s an employer making a job offer to someone who doesn’t have a way to get there, so they’re turning them down,” Macey said.
She also emphasized that child care should be factored into how much someone receives from the state’s unemployment program.
“It might be prudent to consider having some differentiation for someone who’s supporting a family, because they might need to continue paying for child care again if they want to get back into the workforce quickly,” Macey said.
Lawmakers introduced a bill earlier this year that would have allowed unemployment benefit recipients to go through a training program and receive extra money on top of their weekly benefits — but it failed to pass.
For more statewide reporting, see Civically, Indiana and the climate questions project at ipbs.org/climatequestions.
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