State drops plan to halt unemployment payments

INDIANAPOLIS | State officials have canceled a plan to suspend unemployment payments for more than 32,000 out-of-work Hoosiers that was prompted by automatic federal budget cuts known as the sequester.

LARRY DeBOER: Looking over the fiscal cliff

Economics is not an experimental science. We can't say to Congress, "Honorable ladies and gentlemen, please drastically raise taxes and cut spending all at once so we can measure the effects on the economy of changes in the federal government's budget." This is not what elected officials do.

Ind. Chamber of Commerce skeptical of Pence's tax cut plan

INDIANAPOLIS | The state's most powerful business organization on Monday added its voice to the chorus of legislative leaders skeptical that Indiana can afford the 10 percent income tax cut proposed by Republican Gov.-elect Mike Pence.

State debt falls to $1.7 billion

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels held a ceremonial mortgage burning outside the Statehouse Wednesday to celebrate early payment of $147 million of long-term state debt.

Indiana repaying unemployment insurance debt

INDIANAPOLIS | Indiana is steadily reducing its unemployment insurance debt, but Hoosier businesses will continue paying an increasing annual penalty through at least 2014 as punishment for the state's unemployment fund shortfall.

New law reduces time to collect unemployment

INDIANAPOLIS | Extended unemployment benefits will end 10 weeks earlier for out-of-work Hoosiers who seek assistance starting Sunday.

15 indicted in fraud scheme that netted $8.7 million in 3 states

CHICAGO| A Sauk Village man and 14 co-defendants have been indicted on allegations they siphoned about $8.7 million from Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota unemployment insurance companies, according to a government news release.

US job market ends year in better shape

The long-suffering job market is ending the year better off than it began. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January.

Claims lowest since April '08 as job market improves

In the latest sign that the economy is surging at year's end, unemployment claims have dropped to the lowest level since April 2008, long before anyone realized that the nation was in a recession.

Other states should follow Indiana on jobless aid fix

Many people are out of work here in Indiana and elsewhere in the country, and difficult choices have to be made. ("Ind. unemployment insurance overhaul continues," Sept. 29).

Indiana beginning to repay unemployment fund debt

INDIANAPOLIS | An increase in Indiana's employer-paid unemployment insurance premiums has enabled the state to begin paying interest on its massive unemployment debt to the federal government.

Court: Companies cannot use subsidiaries to reduce taxes

INDIANAPOLIS | Hoosier businesses cannot create subsidiaries consisting essentially of the original company in order to reduce their unemployment insurance tax rate, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Changes to unemployment insurance take effect Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS | Hoosiers receiving unemployment insurance will notice changes to eligibility requirements beginning Saturday. These new rules are part of a law passed by the General Assembly making several changes to unemployment insurance over the next year.

GUEST COMMENTARY: No consensus among public on federal deficit

The federal budget deficit is enormous, and the national debt is growing. So the pollsters are asking the public what should be done. The latest poll I've seen was done for NBC and the Wall Street Journal at the end of February. I found it on the Web by searching "NBC deficit poll."

Gov. Daniels signs unemployment fix into law

INDIANAPOLIS | Gov. Mitch Daniels enacted a fix for Indiana's insolvent unemployment insurance system Thursday that raises premiums for businesses and cuts benefits to the unemployed.

Jobless benefits will not post Monday due to holiday

INDIANAPOLIS | Due to bank and government observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday, unemployment insurance benefits will not be posted on debit cards Monday.

Governor seeks big changes in education, local government

INDIANAPOLIS | Stressing the need for urgent action, Gov. Mitch Daniels called for reforms to Indiana education and local government during his State of the State speech Tuesday that could forever transform how students are taught, schools funded and Hoosiers served.

Calls continue to restore unemployment extensions

Two years ago, Lansing resident Barbara McKinney lost her job working as a receptionist for the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers. Ever since, McKinney's attempts to find a job have been met with resistance as she and her husband have been hit with health problems and hospitalizations.

Labor Department: Unemployment benefits boost economic activity

Economic activity increases by $2 for every dollar spent on unemployment insurance, according to a study the U.S. Department of Labor released Tuesday.

Diamond wins Nobel, but still blocked on Fed job

WASHINGTON | Peter Diamond's research on unemployment is good enough to earn him the Nobel Prize in economics — but not to get him on the Federal Reserve.