UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: Transformation Needed to Address Program Design, Infrastructure, and Integrity Risks.

The article discusses the highlights of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which examines the challenges in implementing the unemployment insurance (UI) programs created by the Congress during the Covid-19 pandemic in the U.S. Topics include the problem with program design and variation in how states administer UI and its contribution to the declining access and disparities in benefit distribution, and an increase in the risk of UI improper payments including from fraud.