Melissa Johnson, a 38-year-old mother of three, had worked as an administrative assistant at the same metro-Detroit law firm for 15 years—her co-workers were like family. But when the Great Recession hit in 2007, Melissa was laid off. Devastated, she signed up for unemployment benefits, and when no work appeared, she began retraining to become a nurse. Unemployment insurance paid Melissa a portion of her former salary for the duration of her training. Without those benefits, her home would have gone into foreclosure. When we spoke with Melissa in summer 2013, she remained in her home and was happily working as a nurse.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=213677