Economic group: Miss. can afford higher jobless compensation

The Sun Herald, 5/27/8

The director of an independent think tank says he hopes Mississippi lawmakers fulfill a promise to increase the maximum weekly unemployment benefit.

At $210 a week, Mississippi’s jobless compensation is the lowest in the nation. It has been at the same level for nearly six years – and it’s covering even fewer day-to-day expenses now that unleaded gasoline is approaching $4 a gallon and prices are climbing for milk, bread and other grocery staples.

“We think that it needs to be higher, and we think we can afford a higher payment,” said Ed Sivak, director of the Jackson-based Mississippi Economic Policy Center.