Recession and 9/11 Economic Hardship and the Failure of the Safety Net for Unemployed Workers in New York City

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Recession and 9/11Economic Hardship and the
Failure of the Safety Net for Unemployed Workers
in New York City

• Annette Bernhardt and Kate Rubin
• Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
• Presented to the New York Regional Association of
  Grantmakers
• January 13, 2004

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Finding 1

• An unequal system

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The majority of unemployed workers in New York
State do not receive unemployment benefits
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Those who need benefits the mostare the least
likely to get them
Percent of workers receiving benefits
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Finding 2

• Inadequate benefits

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Many workers who receive benefits exhaust them
before finding a new job
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Unemployment benefits dont replace workers wages
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The social cost of our failed system

• The majority of workers we interviewed
  experienced serious economic hardship
• 60 reported crises such as having their
  utilities cut off, being evicted, or having to go
  to soup kitchens
• In 2003, we estimate that low recipiency cost New
  York City between 400 and 600 million in lost
  benefits

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Finding 3

• Outreach works

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Outreach significantly increases the number of
workers who receive benefits
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And outreach also reduces the inequality in who
receives benefits
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How public policy can help

1. Better Outreach
2. System Reform