Guides: Repairing the Unemployment Insurance Safety Net (PSI): Home

Financing Unemployment Insurance

What is the unemployment insurance trust fund, and how is it financed?
FAQ from The Tax Policy Center's Briefing Book
Financing Unemployment Insurance
Wayne Vroman and Stephen A. Woodbury (2014) National Tax Journal
A Comparative Analysis of Unemployment Insurance Financing Methods (PDF)
Vroman et al., (2017) Prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor by the Urban Institute.
The Unemployment System Isn't Ready for the Next Recession
Ben Casselman (2016) FiveThirtyEight.com
The Costs and Consequences of Unemployment Benefits on the States
Eileen Norcross & Emily Hamilton (2010) Mercatus Center (George Mason University)

Modernizing Unemployment Insurance

Unemployment Insurance Reform: Fixing a Broken System
Stephen A. Wandner, ed. (2018). Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
Report to the New Leadership and the American People on Social Insurance and Inequality
Benjamin W. Veghte et al., (January 2017) National Academy of Social Insurance
Strengthening unemployment Protections in America: Modernizing Unemployment Insurance and Establishing a Jobseeker’s Allowance
Rachel West et al., (2016) Center for American Progress with National Employment Law Project and Center on Poverty and Inequality with Georgetown Law
Modernizing Unemployment Insurance for the Changing Nature of Work
Conor McKay et al., (2018) The Aspen Institute Future of Work Initiative
Closing Doors on the Unemployed: Why Most Jobless Workers Are Not Receiving Unemployment Insurance and What States Can Do About It
George Wentworth (2017). National Employment Law Project

The Gig Economy and Unemployment Insurance

"New Labor Rule Means Gig Economy Workers in Texas Can't Get Unemployment Benefits"
(April 2019) KUT News
Commonwealth Rideshare Drivers and Unemployment Compensation Law: An Analysis of Lowman v. Unemployment Compensation Board of Review
Lindsay M. Eichinger, 28 Widener Commw. L. Rev. 303 (2019)
On Uber's Responsibility To Make UI Contributions For NY Drivers
NELP (2019)
Policy Ideas For How To Extend Unemployment Benefits To Gig Workers
Gregory Ferenstein (2018) Forbes
New Employment Regulations Could Destroy California's Gig Economy
Christian Britschgi (June 2019) Reason
Reforming Unemployment Insurance in the Age of Non-Standard Work
Jeremy Pilaar, 13 Harv. L. & Pol'y Rev. 327, 356 (2018)

How Unemployment Insurance Affects Furloughed Workers

What Is A Furlough and What Are Employee Rights During One?
(2019) TheStreet.com
"Amid Shutdown, Thousands of Federal Workers File for Unemployment"
(January 2019) CNBC News
Fridays Are Furlough Days: The Impact of Furlough Policy and Strategies for Human Resource Management During a Severe Economic Recession
Soohoo Lee (2013) Review of Public Personnel Administration
"Enjoy Your Forced Vacation - In the face of massive layoffs, furlough programs are gaining steam as a way to cut costs without cutting jobs"
(March 2009) CNN Money

How Unemployment Insurance Impacts Those in Government Shutdowns

And how could Unemployment Insurance be reformed to help those impacted by shutdowns?

"Government Workers Who Take Unemployment Benefits During the Shutdown Will Have to Pay Them Back”
(January 2019) CNBC News
OPM Pay and Leave - Furlough Policy Page
U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Includes UI Resources tab.
OPM Guidance for Shutdown Furloughs (PDF)
(2021). Q&A for federal agencies and employees.
The FY2014 Government Shutdown: Economic Effects (PDF)
Marc Labonte (2015), Cong. Research Serv., R43292
Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 116th Congress (PDF)
Julie Whitaker & Katelin Isaacs (2021) Cong. Research Serv., R45478
Budget-Related Furloughs in Today's Federal Government: Making the Case for Reforming the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
Jeffrey Joseph Lorek, 24 Fed. Cir. B.J. 537 (2014-2015)

Unemployment Insurance Data

Unemployment Insurance
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration
State Law Information
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. Includes publications about state unemployment insurance laws - both comparisons and analysis of significant provisions.
Data Downloads
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration. Includes downloads of: ETA 207: Nonmonetary Determinations Activities Report; ETA 227: Overpayment Detection and Recovery Activities; ETA 539: Weekly Claims and Extended Benefits Trigger Data;ETA 5130: Benefit Appeals Report; ETA 5159: Claims and Payment Activities; ETA HANDBOOK 394: ETA Financial Handbook 394.
Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM)
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. BAM is a statistical survey used to identify and support resolutions of deficiencies in the state’s unemployment insurance (UI) system and is also used to estimate state UI improper payments to be reported to DOL as required by the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA) and the Elimination and Recovery Act (IPERA). BAM is also used to identify the root causes of improper payments and supports other analyses conducted by DOL to identify improper payment prevention strategies and to measure progress in meeting improper payment reduction targets.
State Rankings of Core Performance Measures
United States Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration. Includes measures: First Payments in 14/21 days; Nonmonetary Determinations in 21 days; Nonmonetary Separation Quality; Nonmonetary Nonseparation Quality; Quality of Lower Authority Appeals; Average Age of Pending Lower Authority Appeals; Average Age of Pending Higher Authority Appeals
Benefits: Timeliness and Quality Report
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration
Monthly Program and Financial Data
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Association
Weekly Claims Reports
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration
Characteristic of the Unemployment Insurance Claimants
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration
Tax Measures Report
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration

Unemployment Insurance Policy Reform Efforts

These policy reform efforts are from the last 5-10 years only.

Unemployment Insurance Reform: A Primer
Till von Wachter (2016) Washington Center for Equitable Growth
UI Reform Proposals in the Fiscal Year 2017 Obama Budget Request (PDF)
Suzanne Simonetta, Ch 2. in Unemployment Insurance Reform: Fixing a Broken System (2018)
Chronology of Federal Unemployment Insurance Laws (PDF)
U.S. Dept. of Labor (November 9, 2018)

Unemployment Insurance State Models

Dept. of Labor State Law Information - Unemployment Insurance
Comparisons of state UI laws and recent legislation.
Comparison of State Unemployment Laws (January 2020)
Map of Unemployment Benefits
Database of state UI programs collected and maintained by the Dep't. of Labor. Rules for workers applying for and collecting UI differ by state.

Unemployment Insurance Federal Models

Unemployment Insurance and the Great Recession
John G. Kilgour (2015) Compensation and Benefits Review
Unemployment Insurance in the 21st Century
John G. Kilgour (2010) Compensation and Benefits Review

How Other Countries Structure Unemployment Insurance

United Kingdom

OECD Tax-Benefit Model for the United Kingdom: Description of policy rules for 2020 (PDF)
See annual update here.
Great Britain’s Welfare Reform Act of 2012: Implementation Overview, Preliminary Impact, and Future Implications
Barbara Makowiecki, 48 Int'l Law. 243 (2014)
Hounding Delinquents: The Introduction of the Jobseeker’s Allowance
Tony Novak, 17 Critical Soc. Policy 99 (1997)

China

China : improving unemployment insurance (English
Milan Vovopidec (2010) Social Protection discussion paper ; no. SP 0820. World Bank
China to use $14.9 billion from unemployment insurance fund to support jobs
(April 30, 2019) Reuters

South Africa

Extending Coverage of the Unemployment Insurance-System in South Africa
Ockert Drupper et al., 21 Stellenbosch L. Rev. 438, 462 (2010)

Germany

Protection Provided for and Duties Imposed on Long-Term Unemployed Persons in Germany
Eichenhofer Eberhard, 67 Pravnik 39, 56 (2012)

International

A Global Perspective on Social Security Programs for the Unemployed
John Dixon, 44 International Social Work 4 (2011)

Unemployment Insurance and the Impact of Recessions / The Economy

Unemployment Insurance in the Wake of the Great Recession (PDF)
(2012) Congressional Budget Office
Are State Unemployment Insurance Reserves Sufficient for the Next Recession?
Christoper J. O'Leary & Kenneth J. Cline (2016) Working paper, Upjohn Institute.