Exhaustees of Extended Unemployment Benefits Programs: Coping with the Aftermath of the Great Recession

Abstract

The Great Recession and the time period following it were characterized by the longest average unemployment durations seen since World War II. To support unemployed workers, supplemental Unemployment Compensation (UC) legislation was passed, and, in conjunction with benefits available during non-recessionary times, offered up to 99 weeks of UC benefits to eligible recipients in some states. This represented the longest potential duration of benefits in the history of the UC system. This study examines the extent to which recipients collected all of the benefits to which they were entitled ("exhausting" their benefits) and assesses the outcomes experienced by those who exhausted their entitlements relative to (1) recipients who did not exhaust all of the benefits to which they were entitled and (2) UC non-recipients.