DLT to borrow $95M for UI benefits

PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Department of Labor and Training has requested a $95 million line of credit to cover unemployment insurance benefit costs over the next three months.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the federal government allows state unemployment insurance programs to borrow interest-free from the federal unemployment insurance trust fund through December 2010. The line of credit from the federal government is both guaranteed and immediate.
DLT said in a statement that the department requested and received lines of credit for the unemployment insurance in March, July and October of 2009. As of Dec. 24, 2009, the department had drawn down $121.8 million in federal loans.
DLT said it paid more than $735 million in regular, state-extended and federal emergency unemployment benefits. Of that amount, more than $270 million was paid directly from the state unemployment insurance trust fund. Both the state and federal unemployment insurance trust funds are financed through employer contributions. •