The chart below shows the estimated percentage of unemployed workers in each state who did not receive unemployment insurance benefits in 2001. As the chart indicates, the majority of unemployed workers in most states do not receive these benefits. Why? New entrants to the workforce do not qualify for unemployment insurance. Some states set up earning requirements that are difficult to meet, and many states do not count recent earnings but go back a quarter or more to calculate if workers meet the earnings threshold to receive benefits.

Differences among the states in the percentage of unemployed people who did not receive benefits reflect a combination of public policies and economic conditions in each state.

Note: The number of unemployed people who receive benefits is an estimate based on the number of unemployed who file claims. Since not all people who claim unemployment benefits actually receive them, the true percentages of unemployed people who did not receive benefits are higher than the estimates shown in the chart.

Source: Failing the Unemployed: A State-by-State Examination of Unemployment Insurance Systems, by the Economic Policy Institute, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the National Employment Law Project, released in March 2002.

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