Last week's disappointing jobs report, while perhaps only a blip in an ongoing labor market recovery, is a sober reminder of how devastating the Great Recession and subsequent prolonged jobs slump has been for workers. In particular, the share of the population with a job, which plunged to its lowest levels since the early 1980s, has since risen only modestly even though we’re now more than five years into the recovery.
- Key Things to Know About Unemployment Insurance
- How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available?
The number of jobless veterans who’ve lost access to federal jobless benefits since Congress allowed Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) to expire at the end of last year — which we estimated at the end of February was close to 200,000 and counting — reaching an estimated 285,000 at the end of June.
September 19, 2014
September 5, 2014
Updated September 5, 2014
Updated August 25, 2014
August 1, 2014
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The federal-state unemployment insurance (UI) system helps people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing part of their wages. Created in 1935, UI is a form of social insurance, with contributions being paid into the system on behalf of working people so that they have income support if they lose their jobs. UI also helps sustain consumer demand during economic downturns, by providing a continuing stream of dollars for families to spend.
The UI system includes an extended benefits program, which provides additional weeks of benefits to jobless workers in states where the unemployment situation has worsened dramatically. In addition, during and just after recessions, the federal government has historically provided funding for additional weeks of benefits in all states.