HF 3377

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 05/07/2014 10:31am

A bill for an act
relating to unemployment; expanding the measurement of unemployed and
underemployed Minnesotans; designating use of funds; proposing coding for
new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 116J.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [116J.4012] EXPANSION OF MEASUREMENT OF UNEMPLOYED
AND UNDEREMPLOYED MINNESOTANS.
new text end

new text begin (a) By July 1, 2015, the commissioner of employment and economic development
shall design and implement a comprehensive measure of unemployment and
underemployment in the state to be used by the Labor Market Information Office within
the Department of Employment and Economic Development to analyze and produce
estimates of total unemployment. The measurement required under this section is in
addition to methods currently utilized by the commissioner to produce official forecasts
and must include data on:
new text end

new text begin (1) workers who are employed on a part-time basis but would prefer and accept
full-time employment if it were available; and
new text end

new text begin (2) those who are currently unemployed and not actively seeking employment due to
impediments to work including lack of child care or transportation or economic barriers
to seeking or obtaining employment as a result of the requirement to purchase health
insurance as mandated by the federal government.
new text end

new text begin The new measurement must also include information on state and substate unemployment
and underemployment and the incidence of unemployment and underemployment
across demographic categories including, but not limited to, race, age, and gender. The
commissioner must report monthly to all members of the committees of the senate and
house of representatives having jurisdiction over workforce issues on the most recent
monthly state unemployment rate under both the traditional measure, commonly referred
to as the U-3 measure, and the measure required to be designed by this section.
new text end

new text begin (b) The comprehensive measure required in paragraph (a) may, in addition to other
information, utilize information from the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics Current
Population Survey and the United States Census Bureau American Community Survey as
the base for identifying, evaluating, and utilizing correlations with other relevant data to
be used in econometric modeling of measures of unemployment and underemployment.
new text end

new text begin (c) The commissioner of employment and economic development shall update on a
quarterly basis measurements of job gains from expansion, job gains from openings, job
losses from contractions, job losses from closings, establishment births, job gains from
births, establishment deaths, and job losses from deaths.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2. new text begin USE OF FUNDS.
new text end

new text begin Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 268.18, subdivision 2, up to $150,000
of the funds collected for unemployment insurance administration under that subdivision
must be used to implement section 116J.4012.
new text end