How many receive unemployment benefits

For one thing, initial claims for regular state UI and PUA should be nonoverlapping—that is how DOL has directed state agencies to report them—but some individuals are erroneously being counted as being in both programs. Further, some states are including retroactive payments in their continuing PUA claims, which would also lead to double-counting this story does a great job of explaining this.

Finally, as mentioned above, creaky UI systems have also been the target of highly sophisticated fraud, which adds to claims numbers.

All this means nobody knows exactly how many people are receiving unemployment insurance benefits right now, which is yet another reminder that we need to invest heavily in our data infrastructure and technology. Caution: This is a substantial overestimate. For one thing, initial claims for regular state UI and PUA should be nonoverlapping—that is how DOL has directed agencies to report them—but some individuals are erroneously being counted as being in both programs.

Also, some states are including retroactive payments in their continuing PUA claims, which would also lead to double-counting. Click here for notes. Seasonally adjusted data are used for regular state UI claims; seasonally adjusted data are not available for the other components of the chart.

Regular state UI continued claims are for the week ending September 19; regular state UI initial claims are for the week ending September Pandemic Unemployment Assistance PUA is the federal program for workers who are out of work because of the virus but who are not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance UI benefits e.

Figure B shows continuing claims in all programs over time the latest data are for September Continuing claims are more than 25 million above where they were a year ago. By comparison, about million weekly payments were issued in , about half those paid in the pandemic's first year, according to The Century Foundation.

The pandemic total is also likely understated, since some states haven't submitted regular data for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, according to the Labor Department.

About half of U. Skip Navigation. Key Points. They expanded the safety net for the jobless to a historic degree. The jobless received 1. That expansion of aid, economists say, captured millions of people who in previous recessions had fallen through the cracks. Another reason incomes rose is that so many people who lost jobs had been paid comparatively little, while higher-paid professionals who mostly worked from home generally kept their jobs.

In fact, total wages and salaries have already rebounded to pre-pandemic levels , even though the economy has 8. In the fall of , when the job market was in similar shape, just one-quarter of the unemployed were receiving aid. By then, emergency programs that provided benefits in the aftermath of the Great Recession for as long as 99 weeks had ended. And as the economy slowly improved, many states took steps to limit the availability of unemployment payments , such as reducing the duration of aid.

Now, more Americans are actually receiving jobless benefits that are officially counted as unemployed, though that reflects quirks in the data. The government says 9. See privacy policy. Stay in the know with our latest home stories, mortgage rates and refinance tips. Before you go, sign up for our newsletter to get NextAdvisor in your inbox. Card Comparisons. Home Equity. Next Advisor Logo. Share Share on Social Media. Getty Images.

Editorial Independence We want to help you make more informed decisions. Some links on this page — clearly marked — may take you to a partner website and may result in us earning a referral commission. For more information, see How We Make Money. Trending 1. In your inbox every Tuesday. A valid email address is required.

You must check the box to agree to the terms and conditions. Thanks for signing up! Sign up. Today's Rates Mortgages Refinance.