This brief assesses the financing of regular state UI benefits, specifically state financing experiences during and after the Great Recession that commenced December 2007. Sections (1) provide background on the Unemployment Insurance (UI) system; (2) summarize UI system performance in the Great Recession, providing an overview of benefit payment experiences, state borrowing, and the response of the UI tax system that finances regular benefits; (3) analyze causes for the financing problem; and finally, (4) discuss potential remedies to improve fiscal integrity in regular UI, focusing on both state and federal policy action to restore its long-run fiscal solvency.