Unemployment Insurance Critical to Struggling Mississippians

August 23rd, 2010

Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger article, “More Time for Jobless,” on unemployment insurance (UI) in Mississippi highlighted the importance of the UI program for the long-term unemployed. One of the biggest challenges facing the long-term unemployed in Mississippi is simply a lack of job opportunities. The chart below compares the magnitude and duration of job loss in Mississippi over the four most recent recessions. Thirty-one (31) months from the start of the recession in 2007, the level of job loss continued to decline and showed no indication of moving toward pre-recession job levels.

Click to enlarge

Job loss in Mississippi During 2007 Recession Worse than Recent Recessions

On the left side of the chart, an index has been created to make comparisons across different recessions.

A value of 1.0 represents the number of jobs available when a recession began.
A value of less than 1.0 indicates fewer jobs than at the start of the recession.
A value of more than 1.0 indicates more jobs than at the start of the recession.

Since the recession began more than two and a half years ago, Mississippi has lost 77,900 jobs. For these Mississippians that struggle to find work, the UI program plays a critical role in helping families get by while putting much-needed money back into the economy.

Source:

Economic Policy Institute JobWatch July 2010

Author:

Sarah Welker, Policy Analyst