Two years of unemployment benefits are considered “short-term”? Wow.
In the US, benefits usually run out at 26 weeks. Congress took note of the Great Recession and extended that to 39 weeks, or 48 weeks in states with over-6-percent unemployment, but that extension expires at the end of this year.
And Americans only get unemployment benefits if they are laid off; if you quit or are fired for cause, you’re screwed.
True, though I didn't mean objectively short, just that there's a distinction between the part of the welfare system that addresses long-term social problems (homeless, chronically unemployed, etc.), which is the regular state welfare system, and the decentralized, privately administered system with a time limit that's intended to smooth over finite periods of unemployment.
There's a hard to quantify cultural element to the difference, which I think is part of what makes it work reasonably well, at least in many cases. The a-kasse project a fairly positive image, of job-finding assistance for people temporarily out of work. People are both assumed to be finding a job in good faith (at least initially), and are encouraged to view the chance of getting one as likely (perhaps with assistance or upskilling). So it doesn't have the same aura of charity/leecher/etc. or dead-endness that Americans tend to associate with welfare (and which even many Danes associate with the "regular" welfare system, e.g. people receiving Kontanthjælp).
There's even some hope that it'll produce a sort of win-win, viewing unemployed people who aren't long-term unemployed as untapped resources that can be used to solve various labor shortages in Denmark. Part of the a-kasse's job is monitoring their sector for what kinds of skills are needed, developing relationships with companies, and figuring out how to plug their unemployed members (perhaps after training) into unfilled needs of those companies.
Did you pay into unemployment insurance? I doubt it very much -- self-employed persons typically don't have to pay into it, unless they in turn have employees.
If I work as a consultant for 10 years and on average make $100k a year, I have to pay taxes on said $100k, like everyone else. Actually as a self-employed person I pay more than those with jobs, yet if the economy or my business collapses and I get no clients for 6 months, why would I not be entitled to collect on what I've paid into the system?
Someone who came right out of college, made $50k for two years, is entitled to double digit weeks of unemployment benefits.
Edit: Egg on face. Just looked up the details, while I pay taxes, it seems none of these go towards unemployment insurance, unlike when you're employed, which is why the self-employed don't qualify. Lots of differences from state-to-state too, but in NY it's impossible to "participate" unless you set it up as an s-corp.
Yeah it is considered short-term and people are howling about how they are going to lose their benefits at January first, it used to be four years rather than two.
In the US, benefits usually run out at 26 weeks. Congress took note of the Great Recession and extended that to 39 weeks, or 48 weeks in states with over-6-percent unemployment, but that extension expires at the end of this year.
And Americans only get unemployment benefits if they are laid off; if you quit or are fired for cause, you’re screwed.