Nationwide—This morning, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would have released the monthly Employment Situation Summary for October, a source of reliable, unbiased economic data that provides critical information to inform government and business decision-making. However, this vital public data was not reported for a second month due to the federal government shutdown.
“News of layoffs at major corporations and the federal government has workers on edge,” said Rebecca Dixon, president and CEO of the National Employment Law Project (NELP). “In states across the country, unemployment insurance systems are not equipped to adequately support newly laid off workers. Unemployment benefits have not kept pace with inflation and state eligibility rules shut out too many unemployed workers, disproportionately excluding workers of color. Some states have also cut the length of time workers can receive benefits. To make matters worse, the Trump administration stripped away funds that states were using to modernize their unemployment insurance systems. Policymakers need to support workers losing their jobs today and those who could become unemployed if the job market weakens further.”
Unemployment benefits are all the more critical for jobless workers as other public supports—including food assistance and health coverage—face cuts as a result the government shutdown and budget legislation. Because unemployment insurance is administered by the states, benefits are largely unaffected by the shutdown. And most states are continuing to report the number of workers claiming unemployment benefits each week, providing a window into the state of the job market.
In the week ending October 25, 1.702 million workers claimed state unemployment benefits, an increase of 3.3 percent from the same week in 2024. At the same time, 30,151 laid off federal workers claimed benefits under the unemployment program designed to support them, a 610 percent increase from the same week last year. The state data was aggregated by the Economic Policy Institute, with values imputed for states that had not yet reported data.
The payroll company ADP also reported news on the job market, finding that private sector employers added a modest 44,000 jobs in October, with the biggest gains in trade, transportation, and utilities. But ADP’s report does not match the comprehensiveness and reliability of the public data that should have been released by the BLS today.
State policymakers across the country should act to strengthen their state’s unemployment insurance systems to better support workers and the economy. Congress must also support unemployed workers by enacting The Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act, sponsored Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA). The bill sets nationwide standards for UI, mandating that states offer at least 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, raising benefit amounts to replace a greater share of workers’ prior earnings, and increasing coverage for part-time workers, temp workers, and workers whose earnings fluctuate over time. The bill also establishes a new, federally funded Jobseekers Allowance to support jobless workers who would not otherwise be covered by unemployment insurance and modernizes the Extended Benefits program that makes additional weeks of unemployment benefits available in times of high unemployment.
