Emergency Extension Of Federal Unemployment Compensation Benefits

This report describes the history of temporary federal extensions to unemployment benefits from 1980 to the present. Among these extensions is the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC08) program created by P.L. 110-252 (amended by P.L. 110-449, P.L. 111-5, P.L. 111-92, P.L. 111-118, P.L. 111-144, P.L. 111-157, P.L. 111-205, P.L. 111-312, P.L. 112-78, and P.L. 112-96). This report contains five sections. The first section provides background information on unemployment compensation (UC) benefits. It also provides a brief summary of UC benefit exhaustion and how exhaustion rates are related to the business cycle. The second section provides the definition of a recession as well as the determination process for declaring a recession. It also provides information on the timing of all recessions since 1980. The third section summarizes the legislative history of federal extensions of unemployment benefits. It includes information on the permanently authorized extended benefit (EB) program as well as information on temporary unemployment benefit extensions. It also includes a brief discussion on the role of extended unemployment benefits as part of an economic stimulus package. The fourth section provides figures examining the timing of recessions and statistics that may be considered for determining extending unemployment benefits. The fifth section briefly discusses previous methods for financing these temporary programs. In particular it attempts to identify provisions in temporary extension legislation that may have led to increases in revenue or decreases in spending related to unemployment benefits.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

Considers legislation to increase the number of employers who must contribute to the Federal unemployment insurance program, to revise Federal-state benefits allocation, to extend benefits to discharged servicemen and to increase the scope of benefits to defense industry employees in times of demobilization.

This monograph evaluates the overall performance of the Federal Supplemental Benefits (FSB) program and provides a general framework for future consideration of emergency supplemental benefits programs. Following an introduction that provides a summary of findings detailed in the paper, the monograph is divided into five chapters. Chapter 2 provides a historical summary of legislation concerning unemployment benefits duration. It stresses the expanding federal role in such policies and points out assumptions believed to have prompted this expansion. Chapter 3 briefly describes characteristics and labor market experiences of individuals who collected benefits under FSB. Chapter 4 discusses the general allocational effects of extended benefits programs and examines specific effects of the FSB program. Chapter 5 considers the distributional impact of FSB by examining how well it compensated workers for recession-induced unemployment and whether it prevented poverty among lowest income FSB recipients. FSB's relationship to welfare programs is also considered. Chapter 6 provides an overall assessment of FSB by addressing seven basic questions policy makers will have to answer in future recessions. A brief discussion of alternative policies during recessions is included. (YLB)

Explains how policy design and timing cause American state governments to greet national laws with enthusiasm, indifference, or hostility.