January 30, 2002

NUMBER OF WORKERS EXHAUSTING UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE
BENEFITS SETS RECORD LEVEL FOR A DECEMBER

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New data from the U.S. Department of Labor show that the number of workers exhausting their regular unemployment insurance benefits without qualifying for additional benefits was larger in December 2001 than in any other December on record. In recent months, the number of unemployed workers who have exhausted their regular unemployment insurance benefits has climbed sharply.

A portion of the increase in the number of workers exhausting their unemployment benefits, as compared to the number that exhausted benefits in previous recessions, reflects an increase in the number of workers in the labor force. Yet even after this factor is taken into account, the number of exhaustees in December 2001 remains strikingly high. Measured as a share of the labor force, the percentage of workers who exhausted their regular benefits and did not qualify for additional benefits was higher in December 2001 than in any other December on record, with the sole exception of December 1981, a month in which the unemployment rate stood at 8.5 percent. The number of workers who exhausted their regular unemployment benefits but did not qualify for additional benefits was 246,000 in December 1981; this was less than the 300,000 workers who exhausted benefits in December 2001. Measured as a share of the labor force, however, the percentage of workers exhausting benefits in December 1981 without qualifying for additional benefits was marginally higher than the percentage that exhausted benefits in December 2001.

Since December 2001, as unemployment has continued to rise, two states — Oregon and Washington — have reached their state "triggers" for providing "extended unemployment benefits." Starting on January 6, 2002, these states provide an additional 13 weeks of benefits to workers whose regular unemployment insurance benefits have run out. Oregon and Washington are among a small number of states that have adopted criteria for the provision of extended unemployment benefits that are less restrictive than the criteria other states use. In most states, unemployment is unlikely to reach the state's trigger for providing extended benefits in the months ahead even if the unemployment rate continues to rise.

 

State-by-state Comparisons

As the table on the next page indicates, the change between the fourth quarter of 2000 and the fourth quarter of 2001 in the number of workers exhausting their unemployment benefits varies across states, but the number of exhaustees has risen sharply in most states.

Number of Workers Who Exhausted Regular Unemployment Insurance Benefits, by State
Fourth Quarter 2000 and 2001
 

4th Quarter
2000

4th Quarter
2001

Change

Percent
Change

Alabama

7,069

9,910

2,841

40%

Alaska

3,851

4,094

243

6%

Arizona

5,146

9,172

4,026

78%

Arkansas

5,386

8,354

2,968

55%

California

83,726

131,992

48,266

58%

Colorado

4,871

10,996

6,125

126%

Connecticut

5,917

10,247

4,330

73%

DC

1,795

2,324

529

29%

Delaware

1,390

1,674

284

20%

Florida

24,538

36,509

11,971

49%

Georgia

10,365

24,470

14,105

136%

Hawaii

1,540

2,165

625

41%

Idaho

2,264

3,622

1,358

60%

Illinois

22,521

42,299

19,778

88%

Indiana

8,982

16,543

7,561

84%

Iowa

3,967

5,596

1,629

41%

Kansas

4,223

4,955

732

17%

Kentucky

4,507

8,291

3,784

84%

Louisiana

6,042

6,899

857

14%

Maine

1,480

3,513

2,033

137%

Maryland

5,885

8,914

3,029

51%

Massachusetts

12,098

23,400

11,302

93%

Michigan

17,967

34,054

16,087

90%

Minnesota

6,773

12,206

5,433

80%

Mississippi

4,195

6,610

2,415

58%

Missouri

6,467

14,093

7,626

118%

Montana

1,550

1,932

382

25%

Nebraska

2,045

3,213

1,168

57%

Nevada

4,958

7,742

2,784

56%

New Hampshire

n/a

n/a

n/a

n/a

New Jersey

25,468

39,497

14,029

55%

New Mexico

1,864

2,813

949

51%

New York

42,746

73,241

30,495

71%

North Carolina

10,099

24,496

14,397

143%

North Dakota

914

882

(32)

-4%

Ohio

11,947

24,416

12,469

104%

Oklahoma

2,904

4,865

1,961

68%

Oregon

8,304

16,261

7,957

96%

Pennsylvania

23,929

39,067

15,138

63%

Puerto Rico

13,010

16,149

3,139

24%

Rhode Island

2,825

3,880

1,055

37%

South Carolina

6,021

12,633

6,612

110%

South Dakota

175

333

158

90%

Tennessee

12,383

18,961

6,578

53%

Texas

38,570

68,804

30,234

78%

Utah

2,833

4,560

1,727

61%

Vermont

580

994

414

71%

Virginia

4,644

9,045

4,401

95%

Washington

12,700

21,657

8,957

71%

West Virginia

1,894

2,358

464

24%

Wisconsin

9,155

15,637

6,482

71%

Wyoming

506

492

(14)

-3%

U.S. Total

504,989

856,830

351,841

70%

Note: Data for New Hampshire are not comparable to other states because New Hampshire uses a uniform benefit year.

End Notes

1. Exhaustees in Oregon and Washington who have not found jobs became eligible during the second week of January for additional weeks of benefits through the "extended benefits program," which is partially state-funded. Exhaustees in most other states will remain ineligible for extended benefits, unless the unemployment rate in their state rises to substantially higher levels and their state legislature acts to liberalize state law regarding the level of unemployment that must be reached for extended benefits to be paid.

2. The December in which the number of unemployed workers who exhausted their regular unemployment benefits reached its highest level was in 1982. The number of workers exhausting their regular benefits exceeded 400,000 in December 1982, a higher level than in December 2001. But most of those workers qualified for additional weeks of benefits under a temporary federal program that was then in place. As a result, the number of workers exhausting benefits without securing any additional benefits was higher in December 2001 than in December 1982.