According to the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, employers in Hawaii will pay an average of $980 per worker into the Unemployment Trust Fund in 2013. Considering that employers were paying approximately $100 per work as recently as 2009, this has created a lot of concerns by both large and small companies in the state.
In 2008 and 2009, there was a surge of unemployment insurance claims across the state due to the recession. The state government was forced to make several aggressive tax increases in 2010 after the unemployment trust fund ran out of money. At the end of 2012, the state was able to raise about $104 million into the fund. The state’s Unemployment Trust Fund is projected to take in $372 million in taxes and earn approximately $8 million in interest in 2013, while paying $198 million in benefits. This will mean that the state should have $285 million in the fund by the end of 2013. However, this is still short of the “adequate reserve level” of $384 million.
State Senator Sam Slom commented that the state legislature needs to do more to provide some relief to businesses in Hawaii. Slom stated, “Employers have been led to believe that the Legislature is looking out for them. We already have one of the most unfriendly business climates in the country. The people who talk about raising the minimum wage and raising payroll taxes have never run a business.”
Source: Honolulu Star Advertiser, 5-26-2013, www.staradvertiser.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
Posted by Jeff Uyemura-Reyes, Broker-in-Charge, Realtor®
Global Executive Realty, LLC
www.myhawaiihomesearch.com
www.myhawaiicondo.com
www.myhawaiidreamhome.com
