Nev. employers billed to refill unemployment fund
Nevada employers billed to refill unemployment fund; state benefits account sapped by downturn
CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- Nevada employers will soon be billed an average of $25 per employee per year to cover interest on loans taken to pay out jobless benefits.
The temporary fees come after the Legislature approved a plan to pay about $17 million in interest owed on loans from the federal government.
Administrator Renee Olson of the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation says the current balance on those loans is about $560 million.
Employers contribute to the state's unemployment trust fund, which is used to pay regular unemployment benefits. But when Nevada's economy tanked during the recession, the estimated $800 million in the account was quickly depleted.
Olson says Nevada has been borrowing money from the federal government since October 2009 to help pay regular unemployment benefits.
