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Is Unemployment Necessary As Connecticut And Other States Reopen?

Joe Amon
/
Connecticut Public
An empty lot at Midway Restaurant & Pizza along Rt. 44 in Ashford, Connecticut on March 20, 2020.

1.5 million people filed for unemployment last week according to the US Department of Labor, despite states re-opening in the last month. 

This hour, we look at unemployment insurance during the pandemic. Many Connecticut residents who have been laid off have been getting by with a combination of money from state unemployment insurance and a $600 weekly benefit from the federal government.

But that money is set to expire next month.

Governor Lamont has said he doesn’t support extending that benefit because he believes it “discourages work”.  Coming up we find out the impact of unemployment insurance on both workers and employers.

And we want to hear from you, too. Have you been receiving unemployment?

GUSTS:

  • Greg Hladky - Reporter for the Connecticut Mirror
  • Annelies Goger – David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program
  • Mark Soycher - Human Resource Counsel for the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBIA)

Cat Pastor contributed to this show

Lucy leads Connecticut Public's strategies to deeply connect and build collaborations with community-focused organizations across the state.
Carmen Baskauf was a producer for Connecticut Public Radio's news-talk show Where We Live, hosted by Lucy Nalpathanchil from 2017-2021. She has also contributed to The Colin McEnroe Show.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

Federal funding is gone.

Congress has eliminated all funding for public media.

That means $2.1 million per year that Connecticut Public relied on to deliver you news, information, and entertainment programs you enjoyed is gone.

The future of public media is in your hands.

All donations are appreciated, but we ask in this moment you consider starting a monthly gift as a Sustainer to help replace what’s been lost.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.