Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment insurance taxes are currently limited to wages of $8,500 paid to any individual employee during a calendar year. The State imposes unemployment compensation tax rates on new and established employers according to the following procedures:

• New employers - Nonconstruction industry employers are assigned a new employer rate equivalent to the average industry classification rate of all covered employers. The new, nonconstruction, employers rate for 2002 is 1.8%. New construction employers (SIC 15, 16, and 17) are assigned the higher of (1) the average of all employers in the new employers four-digit SIC classification or (2) the average construction industry rate. The minimum new construction industry employer rate for 2002 is 2.8% to 6.2%.
• Established employers are assigned earned rates, which are based on the employer's and the State's unemployment experience, and range from a minimum of 0.1% to a maximum of 8.0% of the taxable wage base. These rates are established after two consecutive years of operation.
• All employers are currently assessed a supplemental rate of 0.2%. The tax rate schedule for calendar year 2002 is as follows:

Basic Assessment Rate		Supplemental Assessment Rate		Effective Assessment Rate
0.1% - 3.9%	+	0.2%	=	0.3% - 4.1%
4.0% - 5.9%	+	0.2%	=	4.2% - 6.1%
6.0% - 7.9%	+	0.2%	=	6.2% - 8.1%
8.0%	+	0.2%	=	8.2%