FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOSTON, MA (Oct. 4, 2025) – The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the nation’s leading small business advocacy association with thousands of members across the Commonwealth, released the following statement by Christopher Carlozzi, NFIB’s Massachusetts state director, reacting to the recent increase in the Massachusetts weekly unemployment benefit announced by the Department of Unemployment Assistance.

“The unemployment insurance crisis just keeps getting worse for the state’s employers,” said NFIB State Director Christopher Carlozzi. “Massachusetts not only has the easiest qualification standards and the longest duration to collect at 30 weeks, it has the second highest weekly benefit in the nation at $1,105.”

Last April, due to Springfield’s 5.2% unemployment rate triggering a 2003 state law, UI recipients throughout Massachusetts can collect up to 30-weeks of unemployment benefits. According to state data, more than one-fifth of all unemployment claims are now in the higher income earner category. With a climbing statewide unemployment rate, the Department of Unemployment Assistance anticipates the state UI trust fund will be at a $134 million deficit by the fourth quarter of 2027, accelerated from their earlier 2028 projection.

“The current UI system is a recipe for disaster with the cost burden unfairly falling squarely on the shoulders of Massachusetts’ employers,” continued Carlozzi. “Lawmakers must take a leadership role by enacting real reforms to eligibility, benefits, and duration, while providing funds to shore-up the trust fund to prevent massive tax hikes on small businesses across the Commonwealth.”

To date, Massachusetts employers are liable for repaying nearly $5 billion in pandemic related UI debt, $2.1 billion because of a state accounting error. The maximum weekly benefit is up to $1,105 per week, with recipients allowed to collect for up to 30 weeks after one of the state’s seven metropolitan areas exceeded a 5.1% unemployment rate in April. NFIB recently conducted a radio and digital ad campaign urging legislators to reform the state’s broken unemployment insurance system. For more on NFIB’s UI campaign visit ProtectMassachusettsSmallBusiness.org.

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For over 80 years, NFIB has been advocating on behalf of America’s small and independent business owners, both in Washington, D.C., and in all 50 state capitals. NFIB is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and member-driven. Since our founding in 1943, NFIB has been exclusively dedicated to small and independent businesses, and remains so today. For more information, please visit nfib.com.