Panel sets first meeting on Ind. jobless system

INDIANAPOLIS – A new committee formed to provide oversight of Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund is set to have its first meeting on Wednesday.

The Unemployment Insurance Oversight Committee was formed as part of a state law passed this year that made changes to the system and raised taxes on employers in hopes of eventually fixing the bankrupt insurance fund.

The fund has borrowed about $1 billion from the federal government this year to pay out unemployment benefits and keep the fund solvent.

The state Department of Workforce Development said recently that the amount borrowed by the end of the year will likely be $1.7 billion. It’s not expected to be out of borrowing position in the next five years.