I’m not sure why Uncle Sam waited so long to publish his tax guide for the newly unemployed.  The US unemployment has been above 5% for over a year.  We really could have used this last winter when the rate of new claims was at its peak.

And a note about manners, Uncle Sam.  I don’t expect you to be overly touchy-feely, but after all, the people reading this document will have just suffered a traumatic life event.  Couldn’t you have started a little gently?  Perhaps, something like “the economy is going through difficult times, and many individuals like yourself have temporarily lost employment.”    But nooooh.  Your opening line is:  “Severance pay and unemployment compensation are taxable.”  Ouch.  Harsh.

Below is Google’s graph of the unemployment rate from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.  The data is not seasonally adjusted, so the little upticks happen every January and June.  I assume January’s uptick is from the end of the Christmas seasonal employment, but why June?  I would think that would be the beginning of the summer employment season.

Here’s hoping that you don’t need this publication.

Full disclosure: No positions.

Tags: seasonal unemployment, tax tips, unemployed

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