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Recession and 9/11 Economic 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. Finding 1.
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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
Finding 1 An unequal system
The majority of unemployed workers in New York State do not receive unemployment benefits
Those who need benefits the mostare the least likely to get them Percent of workers receiving benefits:
Finding 2 Inadequate benefits
Many workers who receive benefits exhaust them before finding a new job
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
Finding 3 Outreach works
Outreach significantly increases the number of workers who receive benefits
And outreach also reduces the inequalityin who receives benefits
How public policy can help • Better Outreach • System Reform