U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for January 28 -- WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- WASHINGTON, Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau: Profile America - Monday, January 28th. As the Great Depression approached its worst, Wisconsin made the nation's first governmental direct relief effort for the unemployed. On this date in 1932, it enacted unemployment insurance. Wisconsin was soon followed by a half-dozen other states before the Social Security Act in middecade moved all states to adopt such programs by 1937. Wisconsin's program issued it's first unemployment check in August, in the amount of $15. By 2010, states and local governments took in over $75 billion from the payroll tax to fund unemployment insurance. But they spent nearly $135 billion in such assistance, more than double the outlay of 2009. Sources: Kane's Famous First Facts, 4525 U.S. Census Bureau, State and Local Government Finances Summary: 2010