Maximum Unemployment Insurance Benefit Increases To $573 Oct. 2

The maximum Unemployment Insurance benefit increases to $573 per week from the current $555, effective October 2, State Labor Commissioner Glenn Marshall said in a press release Monday.

The revised rate applies to new claims filed for the benefit year starting on and after October 2, 2011. Individuals who established a new claim prior to this date and who have been collecting Unemployment Insurance benefits will be unaffected by the increase. The weekly dependency allowance for each dependent, at $15 with a maximum of $75, remains unchanged.  

The revision of the maximum weekly unemployment benefit is based on average manufacturing wages for the year ending June 30, 2011. An increase is limited by law to $18 a year – or 60 percent of the average wage – whichever is less. In 2010-2011, those earnings averaged a record $995.88 weekly, up from the 2009-2010 average of $958.52 per week.

For the 12 months ending August 31, 2011, regular jobless benefits averaged $301 per week and claimants received an average 19.6 weeks of compensation, not including federal extensions. A year earlier, weekly benefit payments averaged $297 for an average of 18.6 weeks. 
 
Regular state unemployment benefits are funded by a separate assessment paid by 98,300 Connecticut employers. The tax is based on the first $15,000 of each worker's annual wages.