John Chesto:

Jones said the UI fund currently has slightly more than $2 billion, and is projected to run out of money by the end of 2027, even with the rate increases.

In a prepared statement on Monday, Healey expressed both frustration and optimism about the situation.

“We were dismayed to uncover early on in our term that the previous administration misspent billions of dollars in federal relief funds and that our state was facing what could have been a more than $3 billion tab to pay it back,” Healey said. “For the past year and a half, we have engaged in extensive negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor to minimize the impact on Massachusetts residents, businesses and our economy. . . . It is incredibly frustrating that the prior administration allowed this to happen, but we are going to use this as a moment to come together with the business and labor community to make meaningful reforms to the Unemployment Insurance system.”