This iReport is part of an assignment:
Economy: Are you better off?
More iReports you should see
State With Second Highest Unemployment Rate To Lay Off Unemployment Insurance Staff
Rhode Island currently boasts the second highest rate of Unemployment in the country, holding steady at 11.2 percent. In a recent decision by Governor Lincoln Chaffee, apporoximately seventy employees of the State's Department of Labor & Training are scheduled to lose their jobs on July 28th, 2012.
The majority of these layoffs, up to seventy percent, are to come from Unemployment Insurance Representatives. These agents are on the front line, handling incoming calls and processing claims. They are responsible for ensuring timely payments of benefits for the unemployed.
Rhode Island State Employees are entitled to receive the same levels of Unemployment Insurance benefits that they have been paying to claimants. However, The state of Rhode Island is considered a direct-reimbursable employer. That means they are responsible to pay dollar for dollar the benefits collected by their own employees when laid off. Therefore, Rhode Usland taxpayers are on the hook for up to one million dollars in benefits for State employees to provide no services to a state that desperately needs an adequate workforce to aid the unemployed in such a stagnant economy.
Members of Local 401, a chapter of the Rhode Island Service Employees International United that represents the labor sector of the workforce in jeopardy, are moving to gain support formaintaining the current levels of staffing. However, it seems unlikely that the budget will allow for jobs to be saved.
A reduction in workforce of this magnitude could eliminate subdivisions of Unemployment Insurance specialists responsible for filing claims for recently discharged veterans and anyone combining wages from multiple states - a high percentage of claimants in a state so small and bordering states in a compact geographical area.
Over the past decade, Rhode Island has reduced it's public sector workforce by over two-thousand employees, making it the number one state in terms of State Employee layoffs. It is definitely a trend in short-sightedness and a twist of irony to increase unemployment levels at direct state expense and costing not only money, but customer service to those at their most down and vulnerable.
The majority of these layoffs, up to seventy percent, are to come from Unemployment Insurance Representatives. These agents are on the front line, handling incoming calls and processing claims. They are responsible for ensuring timely payments of benefits for the unemployed.
Rhode Island State Employees are entitled to receive the same levels of Unemployment Insurance benefits that they have been paying to claimants. However, The state of Rhode Island is considered a direct-reimbursable employer. That means they are responsible to pay dollar for dollar the benefits collected by their own employees when laid off. Therefore, Rhode Usland taxpayers are on the hook for up to one million dollars in benefits for State employees to provide no services to a state that desperately needs an adequate workforce to aid the unemployed in such a stagnant economy.
Members of Local 401, a chapter of the Rhode Island Service Employees International United that represents the labor sector of the workforce in jeopardy, are moving to gain support formaintaining the current levels of staffing. However, it seems unlikely that the budget will allow for jobs to be saved.
A reduction in workforce of this magnitude could eliminate subdivisions of Unemployment Insurance specialists responsible for filing claims for recently discharged veterans and anyone combining wages from multiple states - a high percentage of claimants in a state so small and bordering states in a compact geographical area.
Over the past decade, Rhode Island has reduced it's public sector workforce by over two-thousand employees, making it the number one state in terms of State Employee layoffs. It is definitely a trend in short-sightedness and a twist of irony to increase unemployment levels at direct state expense and costing not only money, but customer service to those at their most down and vulnerable.
What do you think of this story?
Select one of the options below. Your feedback will help tell CNN producers what to do with this iReport. If you'd like, you can explain your choice in the comments below.
Be and editor! Choose an option below:
More from this assignment - Economy: Are you better off?
iReport welcomes a lively discussion, so comments on iReports are not pre-screened before they post. See the iReport community guidelines for details about content that is not welcome on iReport.
© 2013 Cable News Network. 
Comments