A new state audit of the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance should end any remaining debate about whether the commonwealth’s unemployment system needs fixing.

More than $10.6 million in fraudulent public benefit claims were uncovered across Massachusetts during the first half of 2026, according to a new report from the state auditor's office.

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) has long operated as a black box of bureaucratic ineptitude, and the latest state audit has just reinforced that disparaging reputation. ...