Hoosiers who are unemployed can receive no more than $390 a week for up to six months through Indiana’s unemployment insurance program. The Indiana Community Action Poverty Institute believes the program’s length and weekly benefit cap should increase to help people meet their basic needs while searching for a job.
Institute Director Erin Macey said Indiana’s unemployment benefits are not enough to cover basic costs of living — like rent and car payments. She said everyone can benefit when someone going through unemployment is supported.
“If they are not supported, that’s a mortgage that’s not getting paid, that’s a car that’s getting repossessed, that’s an employer that’s making a job offer to someone, and they don’t have a way to get there, so they’re turning them down,” Macey said…