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Preliminary estimates of 2004 employer UI contribution rates

Summary ETA sent state workforce agencies preliminary estimates of employer unemployment-insurance contribution rates for calendar year 2004, with actual rates for 2002 and 2003. Its attachments compare rates on taxable wages and total wages across jurisdictions and rank the 2004 rates on total wages. ETA now labels the letter Canceled; the printed expiration date was July 31, 2005.

Document

Federal guidance

Agency

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

Document number

UIPL No. 28-04

Date issued

July 21, 2004

Status

Withdrawn

ETA's advisory index labels this UIPL Canceled; the letter prints a July 31, 2005 expiration date. Its tables give actual rates for 2002–2003 and estimates for 2004.

Status last verified October 25, 2026

Topics

Unemployment Insurance Employer Contributions Tax Rates

Source

View the official document

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This document has been withdrawn. Ezel checks what federal law requires today, under current federal labor law, and answers your situation with citations.

About this page: The full text below is the official document from U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (ETA). Ezel adds the plain-English summary and tracks the document's status. The official source linked on this page is authoritative for any reliance.

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Advisory System
Washington, D.C. 20210
Classification: OWS
Correspondence symbol: TEUFA
Date: July 21, 2004
Rescissions: None
Expiration date: July 31, 2005

ADVISORY: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 28-04

TO: STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM: CHERYL ATKINSON /s/
Administrator
Office of Workforce Security

SUBJECT: Preliminary Estimates of Calendar Year (CY) 2004 Average Employer Contribution Rates

Purpose. To transmit estimated employer contribution rates for CY 2004.
Background. The attached tables contain preliminary estimates of unemployment insurance (UI) average employer contribution rates reported by state agencies. The first table contains estimates for CY 2004 and actual rates for CY 2003 and CY 2002. The rates shown are UI taxes as a percentage of wages up to the state taxable wage base. To permit comparison of data among states with different taxable wage bases, estimated tax rates for each year are also shown based on total wages. The second table ranks the states for CY 2004 by their level of UI taxation relative to total wages.
Action Required. State Administrators are requested to provide this information to the appropriate staff.
Inquiries. Questions should be directed to the appropriate Regional Office.
Attachments. Tabulation of average employer contribution rates: (1) by state, calendar years 2002-2004; (2) by tax rate based on total wages, CY 2004.

Attachment 1 (official scanned PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2004/UIPL28-04_Attach1.pdf)

AVERAGE EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION RATES, BY STATE, CALENDAR YEARS 2002–2004

Tax base is $7,000 except as shown. Rates are percentages. The 2004 figures are estimates; the 2003 and 2002 figures are actual rates.

State or jurisdiction	Tax base ($)	Base change date	2004 taxable	2004 total	2003 taxable	2003 total	2002 taxable	2002 total
United States			2.6	0.8	2.16	0.64	1.80	0.54
Alabama	8,000	01/1993	1.9	0.6	1.71	0.49	1.40	0.41
Alaska	27,100	01/2004	2.2	1.4	2.37	1.49	2.50	1.58
Arizona			1.1	0.3	0.83	0.21	0.83	0.21
Arkansas	10,000	01/2004	2.6	0.9	2.37	0.86	1.91	0.68
California			4.4	0.9	3.01	0.60	2.50	0.51
Colorado	10,000	01/1988	1.9	0.6	1.04	0.31	0.85	0.26
Connecticut	15,000	01/1999	3.2	1.0	2.83	0.87	2.53	0.80
Delaware	8,500	01/1987	2.2	0.5	1.79	0.41	1.62	0.39
District of Columbia	9,000	01/1997	2.1	0.4	2.10	0.39	2.16	0.41
Florida			2.0	0.6	1.34	0.35	1.12	0.30
Georgia	8,500	01/1991	2.5	0.7	0.56	0.15	0.53	0.15
Hawaii	31,000	01/2004	1.2	0.8	1.71	1.17	1.22	0.84
Idaho	27,600	01/2004	1.2	0.8	1.23	0.84	1.18	0.81
Illinois	9,800	01/2004	2.9	0.7	2.95	0.72	2.27	0.57
Indiana			2.4	0.6	1.87	0.45	1.24	0.31
Iowa	19,700	01/2004	1.3	0.7	1.52	0.82	1.22	0.66
Kansas	8,000	01/1994	3.4	0.9	1.79	0.65	1.41	0.52
Kentucky	8,000	01/1982	2.6	0.8	2.35	0.67	2.22	0.66
Louisiana			1.7	0.5	1.68	0.44	1.59	0.43
Maine	12,000	01/2004	1.5	0.6	1.50	0.61	1.84	0.76
Maryland	8,500	01/1993	2.7	0.7	1.47	0.36	1.32	0.34
Massachusetts	14,000	01/2004	4.4	1.1	2.49	0.71	2.31	0.67
Michigan	9,000	01/2004	4.2	1.1	3.36	0.84	2.68	0.72
Minnesota	22,000	01/2004	1.6	0.8	1.36	0.66	0.91	0.44
Mississippi			2.4	0.7	1.69	0.51	1.58	0.49
Missouri	8,000	01/2004	2.0	0.5	1.88	0.47	1.51	0.37
Montana	20,300	01/2004	1.5	0.9	1.10	0.74	1.11	0.74
Nebraska			1.8	0.5	1.71	0.45	1.29	0.35
Nevada	22,000	01/2004	1.3	0.7	1.33	0.76	1.29	0.75
New Hampshire	8,000	01/1994	1.2	0.2	1.04	0.25	0.79	0.20
New Jersey	24,300	01/2004	1.9	0.8	1.66	0.76	1.87	0.85
New Mexico	16,800	01/2004	0.9	0.4	0.98	0.51	0.90	0.47
New York	8,500	01/1999	4.3	0.8	4.22	0.82	3.56	0.71
North Carolina	16,200	01/2004	1.8	0.8	1.67	0.75	0.87	0.39
North Dakota	18,500	01/2004	1.6	0.9	1.54	0.84	1.28	0.71
Ohio	9,000	01/1995	1.8	0.5	1.75	0.49	1.61	0.46
Oklahoma	14,300	01/2004	1.5	0.5	1.20	0.49	0.78	0.30
Oregon	27,000	01/2004	2.7	1.7	2.25	1.37	1.89	1.15
Pennsylvania	8,000	01/1984	5.2	1.2	3.98	0.97	3.66	0.91
Puerto Rico			3.0	2.3	3.36	1.26	3.40	1.31
Rhode Island	14,000	01/2004	3.3	1.1	3.05	1.10	2.93	1.09
South Carolina			2.2	0.7	1.99	0.53	1.61	0.44
South Dakota			0.7	0.2	0.70	0.20	0.63	0.19
Tennessee			2.8	0.6	2.56	0.63	1.93	0.49
Texas	9,000	01/1989	2.4	0.7	2.25	0.61	1.34	0.37
Utah	22,700	01/2004	0.6	0.4	0.63	0.37	0.49	0.29
Vermont	8,000	01/1983	2.1	0.6	2.00	0.57	1.96	0.58
Virginia	8,000	01/1991	0.2	0.1	0.20	0.11	0.27	0.16
Virgin Islands	18,400	01/2004	1.5	0.4	0.98	0.24	0.58	0.15
Washington	30,200	01/2004	2.9	1.7	2.38	1.40	2.07	1.21
West Virginia	8,000	01/1981	2.9	0.9	2.77	0.86	2.77	0.88
Wisconsin	10,500	01/1986	2.7	0.9	2.22	0.72	1.92	0.63
Wyoming	15,900	01/2004	1.4	0.6	0.82	0.39	0.80	0.39

Note: State estimates were furnished by state workforce agencies.

Attachment 2 (official scanned PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/UIPL/2004/UIPL28-04_Attach2.pdf)

STATES ARRAYED BY TAX RATE BASED ON TOTAL WAGES

The attachment orders the same 2004 estimated rates shown in Attachment 1, highest to lowest. Its only additional numeric column is loans outstanding as of July 1, 2004, in millions of dollars. Blank loan entries in the official table are not zeroes.

Order	State or jurisdiction	Loans outstanding ($ millions)
1	Puerto Rico
2	Washington
3	Oregon
4	Alaska
5	Pennsylvania
6	Massachusetts
7	Rhode Island
8	Michigan
9	Connecticut
10	Kansas
11	California
12	Arkansas
13	Montana
14	West Virginia
15	Wisconsin
16	North Dakota
17	Idaho
18	New Jersey
19	New York	396
20	Hawaii
21	North Carolina	252
22	Minnesota	254
23	United States	1,191
24	Kentucky
25	Nevada
26	Mississippi
27	Illinois
28	Georgia
29	South Carolina
30	Iowa
31	Maryland
32	Texas
33	Tennessee
34	Wyoming
35	Maine
36	Vermont
37	Indiana
38	Colorado
39	Alabama
40	Florida
41	Delaware
42	Missouri	289
43	Ohio
44	Oklahoma
45	Louisiana
46	Nebraska
47	New Mexico
48	District of Columbia
49	Utah
50	Virgin Islands
51	Arizona
52	New Hampshire
53	South Dakota
54	Virginia

Note: State estimates were furnished by state workforce agencies.

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Preliminary estimates of 2004 employer UI contribution rates

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