The latest estimate from the Missouri Department of Labor Relations shows that the increase in Missouri unemployment numbers is having a bigger impact on the state's Unemployment Trust Fund than previously predicted.
DOLIR estimates a $2.6 billion deficit in the fund, a large jump from the estimated $45 million shortfall last year and $1.4 billion deficit this spring. The fund, which provides unemployment benefits to workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, is paid for by a tax on Missouri employers. The state is currently borrowing money from the federal government to pay benefits.
"For Missouri employers who are following this issue, it has been shocking to see these estimates soar, knowing they are on the hook to repay these borrowed funds," said Dan Mehan, president and CEO of the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in a news release. "We are coming to a point where the repayment of these funds ... may hinder the re-employment of Missouri workers when the recession is over."
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that Missouri will not receive $133 million in federal stimulus money it had been counting on to expand unemployment benefits. The state passed a bill that extended benefits, but the bill did not make the expansion permanent - a requirement to receive the federal money.
