How insured are workers against unemployment?
Among laid-off workers in the bottom half of the income distribution, those who receive unemployment insurance tend to have much more savings than those who don’t, according to a new report from the Cleveland Fed.
Unemployment insurance recipients had 3.7 times more net liquid wealth than nonrecipients in the bottom income quartile and roughly 2 times more in the second income quartile. Some nonrecipients are ineligible while others don’t apply for various reasons.
The findings suggest that unemployment insurance may be missing some of the most vulnerable workers, according to the authors, André Victor D. Luduvice and Anaya Truss-Williams.
“These differences highlight how some recipients are potentially much better insured for enduring an unemployment spell,” they write.
Read the Economic Commentary: How Insured Are Workers Against Unemployment? Unemployment Insurance and the Distribution of Liquid Wealth
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that along with the Board of Governors in Washington DC comprise the Federal Reserve System. Part of the US central bank, the Cleveland Fed participates in the formulation of our nation’s monetary policy, supervises banking organizations, provides payment and other services to financial institutions and to the US Treasury, and performs many activities that support Federal Reserve operations System-wide. In addition, the Bank supports the well-being of communities across the Fourth Federal Reserve District through a wide array of research, outreach, and educational activities.
The Cleveland Fed, with branches in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, serves an area that comprises Ohio, western Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky, and the northern panhandle of West Virginia.
Media contact
Chuck Soder, chuck.soder@clev.frb.org, 216.672.2798
- Share