News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 4/4/08

Washington announces its 2008 contribution rates

For 2008, contribution rates range from 0.0% to 5.4%. The Employment Administration Fund remains in effect for 2008, but there is no solvency surcharge. The law now requires that the flat social cost factor be no more than 0.4% lower than the quotient of the total social cost factor divided by the total taxable payroll. Prior law allowed for a flat social cost factor that was no more than 0.2% lower than that quotient.

The calculation for the minimum flat social cost factor has also been changed. It will now be 0.6%, except that if the balance in the unemployment compensation fund is determined by the commissioner to be an amount that will provide at least 12 months but less than 14 months of unemployment benefits, the minimum will be 0.5% or if the amount will provide at least 14 months of unemployment benefits, the minimum will be 0.5%, except for employers in rate class 1, whose minimum will be 0.45%.

The law also now requires that the graduated social cost factor rate for each employer in the array to be the flat social cost factor multiplied by the percentage specified in the law for the rate class to which the employer has been assigned, except that the sum of an employer's array calculation factor and the graduated social cost factor rate may not exceed 6.5%. Note that for employers whose NAICS code is within major groups 111, 112, 1141, 3114, 3117 or 42448, the graduated social cost factor may not exceed 6.0% through rate year 2008, and may not exceed 5.7% thereafter.

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