An Analysis of Some of the Effects of Increasing the Duration of Regular Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Abstract

The Federal-State Extended Benefits (EB) Program permits eligible individuals to receive benefits equal to one-half of their entitlement under the regular State unemployment insurance program up to a maximum of 39 weeks during periods of specified high unemployment. The triggering mechanism used by the EB Program to determine when a State is experiencing high employment has been criticized because it does not equitably define periods of high unemployment among States, within States, and among individuals. One alternative to a triggering mechanism is to permanently increase the duration of regular State unemployment insurance up to a maximum of 39 weeks. The purpose of this study is to explore alternative formulas for providing additional duration under the regular benefit program.