Upstate United Releases Updated Fact Sheet on New York’s Unemployment Insurance Crisis

May 6th, 2022

Upstate United, a non-partisan pro-taxpayer organization, has released an updated fact sheet highlighting New York’s $9.3 billion unemployment insurance debt. Troubling Trends – New York’s Unemployment Insurance Crisis Keeps Growing  demonstrates the significant impacts this massive debt on employers and consumers.

“Despite repeated calls for unemployment insurance relief from New York’s business community, our leaders in Albany failed to advance a down payment on the state’s $9.3 billion debt,” said Justin Wilcox, executive director of Upstate United. “This inaction means higher costs for employers and, ultimately, consumers.  We need Governor Hochul and legislative leaders to tackle this crisis before the end of the legislative session. New Yorkers cannot afford to pay a $9.3 billion hidden tax.”

The exclusion of unemployment insurance relief in New York State’s 2022-20223 budget is especially confounding when at least 32 other states have used federal aid to address their unemployment insurance issues. For example, Georgia used $1.1 billion in federal aid to repay a portion of its unemployment insurance debt in 2021. Lawmakers in California are currently considering paying down $7.25 billion on its $19.4 billion unemployment insurance debt to the federal government.

“For a state that prides itself on being a national leader on so many issues, Albany’s failure on unemployment insurance relief is very confusing and frustrating,” said Wilcox.

Ultimately, businesses struggling with labor shortages, supply chain issues and other challenges, will have little choice but to pass rising unemployment insurance costs onto employers. This shift will put more pressure on consumers who are feeling the impacts of historic inflation rates. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, inflation over the last 12 months was 8.5 percent for all goods.