Unemployment

Governor signs a bill into law that will have a sweeping impact on Iowa's unemployment benefits system.

Iowa Republican lawmakers passed a bill Tuesday to cut unemployment benefits, sending it to the governor’s desk for her signature.

The governor's education plan meets resistance. The state prepares to reduce unemployment benefits. And the push to license midwives hits a snag.

Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate passed bills Wednesday that would cut the maximum time Iowans can receive unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to 16 weeks and require claimants to accept a lower-paying job more quickly. But they disagree on whether there should be a one-week waiting period for benefits.

The maximum amount of time most Iowans can receive unemployment benefits would be cut from 26 weeks to 16 weeks under a bill advanced Tuesday by House Republicans. The bill would also require claimants to wait a week to start receiving benefits, and to accept a lower-paying job offer more quickly.

Many people across Iowa are looking for solutions to the state’s workforce shortage. But what do some of the state’s unemployed have to say?