Edith Deleon Guerrero
SENATE President Edith Deleon Guerrero has expressed “strong support” for the CNMI Department of Labor’s application for a technical assistance grant to determine the feasibility of an unemployment insurance program in the Commonwealth.
In her letter to U.S Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Carmen G. Cantor, Deleon Guerrero said the approval of the proposal will “provide the impetus for effectuating such an important program, considering the islands’ high unemployment rate.”
Deleon Guerrero said the benefits of administering an unemployment insurance program for the CNMI are vast.
“When workers are laid off or must leave their jobs through no fault of their own, unemployment insurance offers vital temporary income support. The aim of most unemployment insurance programs is to help families survive periods of unplanned employment so that families obtain basic needs, such as food and housing, while searching for new employment. The local economy also benefits indirectly since unemployment insurance guarantees the circulation of cash flow,” the Senate president said.
She added that the CNMI “unfortunately remains to be one of several territories that do not administer a regular unemployment compensation program.” Making matters worse, she said, the CNMI “has one of the highest unemployment rates among all the U.S. territories.”
Deleon Guerrero said unemployment is the shared factor contributing to social and domestic instability.
She added that CNMI DOL’s technical assistance grant proposal, if approved, will allow the Commonwealth to determine whether an unemployment insurance program is a “viable option for eliminating some of the strains the islands face as a result of unemployment.”
