Applying for and receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the coronavirus pandemic

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in the United States, claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits rose sharply because of the substantial job loss and the expansion of UI programs. To improve upon UI administrative data, in this article, we use the Household Pulse Survey to estimate the number of people who applied for UI benefits, the number of people who received benefits, and the success rate of UI applicants (the share of applicants who received benefits) during the first 9 months of the pandemic. We examine differences by demographic group, educational attainment, and prepandemic household income. In addition, we relate state-level estimates to UI recipiency before the pandemic, job loss during the pandemic, and the differential spread of the coronavirus across states. Compared with individuals who applied for UI benefits but did not receive them, we find that individuals who received benefits had greater well-being in a variety of domains, including household finances, food security, and mental health.