Every time we think the UI mess can’t get any worse…it does.

On Monday, a law from 2003 that expands the number of weeks an unemployment recipient can collect benefits was triggered. The law raises the number of weeks from 26 weeks to 30 if any one of the state’s seven metropolitan economic areas’ unemployment rates exceeds 5.1%. The Springfield district hit 5.2%.

What compounds the situation is that Massachusetts is experiencing greater numbers of recipients receiving maximum weekly benefits. This number has risen precipitously over the past few years from around 7% of claimants, to almost 25% in 2025. This means the fund will be paying out higher amounts of money, for longer durations of time and may result in the UI trust fund depleting faster than projected. The current trajectory (modeled at a 3.7% unemployment rate), anticipates the fund to be insolvent by 2028 resulting in a rate schedule jump to Schedule G.

As always, NFIB will keep you notified of the ongoing situation. If you have not yet done so, please keep pressure on your elected officials by using our issue alert on this topic and visiting protectmassachusettssmallbusiness.org.