N.Y. Businesses Stuck With $7.7 Billion Covid Unemployment Debt

New York’s $7.7 billion pandemic-era federal unemployment insurance loan is coming due next month, and employers will foot the bill despite the state’s plea to Washington to waive the debt.

Private businesses in the state have until Sept. 30 to pay approximately $27.60 per employee to reimburse the federal government for interest accrued on the state’s loan—the first of many payments that could continue for more than a decade. That’s in addition to the regular state unemployment insurance tax, a levy that automatically increases when the fund is low.

New York employers say the extra burden will cause them to ...