UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE: Receipt of Benefits Has Declined, with Continued Disparities for Low-Wage and Part-Time Workers
The overall rate of UI receipt has increased modestly from the mid-1980s to 2005, but still remains below the near-50 percent rate of the 1950s.
A comparison of UI receipt by earning levels shows that low-wage workers were less likely to receive UI benefits than higher-wage workers. Moreover, the gap between the two groups has not narrowed over time. Between 1992 and 1995--the period covered in GAO's previous analysis--low-wage workers were about half as likely to receive UI benefits as higher-wage workers. For the years 1998 and 2003--the years added for this analysis--they were about one-third as likely.