Benefits, tax refunds, and the policy news that affects your wallet

Unemployment

California’s Unemployment Fund Is Broke — Here’s Which States Are Solvent

Where you file for unemployment increasingly determines how healthy the fund paying your benefits actually is. Four major states — California, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut — are running their unemployment insurance trust funds with depleted reserves, while Sun Belt states like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina are sitting on surpluses. What a trust fund […]

Unemployment

Texas, Indiana, and Washington Quietly Changed Unemployment Rules in 2026

While Michigan’s unemployment overhaul has grabbed most of the headlines this summer, three other states — Texas, Indiana, and Washington — quietly changed their own unemployment insurance rules in 2026, and each change works a little differently. Texas: redefining "last work" Texas changed the legal definition of "last work" under its unemployment compensation law. Previously, […]

Unemployment

Iowa Unemployment Holds at 3.2% While Weekly Benefits Rise to $790

Iowa’s job market held steady in June, and unemployed Iowans are about to get a bigger weekly check on top of it — two pieces of good news landing in the same month for the state’s workforce. The jobless rate: unchanged, and low Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate stayed at 3.2% in June 2026, down […]