Thread by @ElizaForsythe

New policy memo on unemployment insurance coverage! TLDR: only 24% of unemployed workers surveyed in December/January 2021 had received UI benefits in the prior 2 weeks. 😱 1/

publish.illinois.edu/elizaforsythe/…

This uses data from @UAS_CESR Covid panel (note: this is my own analysis and does not reflect the views of USC or UAS.). I focus on the most recent wave of the survey, see the memo for details. 2/

An additional 5% are waiting to receive benefits or just applied, but at most 30% of unemployed are likely to receive benefits through the UI system. This is important for thinking about whether extensions to the UI system are sufficient to reach unemployed individuals. 3/

If 70% of unemployed are not receiving UI (nor likely to receive in the near future), it means that beefing up the UI system alone is not enough to meet the needs of the unemployed. Universal checks are an important vehicle for reaching these folks. 4/

A couple other findings: 26% of unemp. folks not receiving benefits didn't apply because they were unsure how (!!!). 65% believed that they were ineligible. In ongoing work I'm digging in more on eligibility, but likely many are mistaken about eligibility. 5/

There's much more to do with this data, and I will keep updating the policy memo with my findings (and hopefully will turn it into a proper paper at some point). Thx for reading and comments welcome! 6/6

I should add thanks to @AbigailWozniak for suggesting the data source. And tagging some folks who might be interested
@p_ganong @TJ_Hedin @kevinrinz
@keds_economist @ernietedeschi @arindube @aaronsojourner @hshierholz @DanielBZhao @Claudia_Sahm @pelhamprog @alixgouldwerth