Job and Injury Benefits Increase

July 5, 2018

Iowa Workforce Development announced maximum weekly benefits paid to jobless Iowans and to workers injured on the job will increase July 1, 2018, due to an increase in wages covered by unemployment insurance. The average annual wage for insured Iowa workers increased to $45,877.31 in 2017, up from $44,722.93 the previous year.

The new benefit payment schedules apply to people who file new unemployment insurance claims on or after July 1, 2018, and to workers injured on or after July 1, 2018. Under Iowa law, the number of people covered by unemployment insurance and their gross wages are primary elements of a formula Iowa Workforce Development uses each year to compute maximum and minimum benefit amounts paid to jobless workers.

See the new unemployment insurance benefit rates here.

Iowa Workforce Development officials noted about half of those eligible for unemployment insurance benefits have enough earnings to qualify for the maximum benefit. The 2019 taxable wage base will be $30,600.

Beginning July 1, the workers’ compensation maximum weekly benefit for temporary total disability, healing period, permanent total disability and death will rise to $1,765. For permanent partial disability, the weekly maximum will be $1,623. Those rates are up from $1,720 and $1,583 respectively.