This week, Gov. Mike DeWine announced that Ohio has again become dependent on borrowed federal money to pay for its unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. The state has requested $3.1 billion in borrowing authority to provide UI benefits, which are 100% funded — or repaid — by Ohio employers.
For the time being, there is no interest being charged by the federal government, the governor said. But he noted that Ohio has a “long-term structural problem” with its unemployment system — one that needed to be addressed before COVID-19. This story by The Columbus Dispatch provides an overview of the longstanding problem.
As of June 18, Ohio had paid $4.1 billion to more than 700,000 Ohioans since mid-March. It took seven years to pay off the state’s $3.4 billion loan when the fund went broke in 2008. 6/16/2020