Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a joint state-federal program that provides temporary financial assistance to qualifying unemployed workers while they seek work.
The Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) works with the Employment and Training Administration's Office of Unemployment Insurance to conduct studies of UI programs that can help Department of Labor (DOL) program administrators, as well as policymakers, states, employers, and workers, to understand various facets of these programs.
Explore CEO's current studies and completed reports on unemployment insurance.
Current Studies
Completed Reports
UI Benefits Studies
Unemployment Insurance Navigators Serving Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Findings from Wisconsin and New Mexico (Research Brief, August 2024)
Addressing Barriers to Unemployment Insurance Program Access Through Community-Based Navigation: Findings from New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania (Research Brief, August 2024)
Unemployment Insurance Navigator Outreach and Engagement Strategies: Findings from Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin (Research Brief, August 2024)
Unemployment Insurance Navigators Addressing Technology Barriers: Findings from New Mexico and Pennsylvania (Research Brief, August 2024)
Do Increased Unemployment Insurance Payments Increase Violence Against Women?
(February 2023)
This study was done as part of CEO’s Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.
Gender, Race, and Denied Claims for Unemployment Insurance: The Role of the Employer
(February 2023)
This study was done as part of CEO’s Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.
Disparities in Access to Unemployment Insurance During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Lessons from U.S. and California Claims Data
(February 2022)
This study was done as part of CEO’s Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.
Understanding Disparities in Unemployment Insurance Recipiency
(Final Report, February 2022)
This study was done as part of CEO’s Summer Data Challenge on Equity and Underserved Communities, and was produced outside of CEO’s standard research development process.
Demonstration and Evaluation of the Short-Time Compensation Program in Iowa and Oregon
(Final Report, August 2017)
A Longitudinal Survey of Unemployment Insurance Recipients in Two Regions in California
(Final Report, January 2017)
The 2015 Longitudinal Survey of Unemployment Insurance Recipients-California Pilot
(Survey Methodology Report, August 2016)
Exploring Reemployment Strategies for Army Veterans: Implementation of State Pilots
(Final Report, July 2016)
Additional Unemployment Compensation Benefits During the Great Recession: Recipients and Their Post-Claim Outcomes
(Final Report, March 2016)
States' Decisions to Adopt Unemployment Compensation Provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
(Final Report, March 2016)
Implementation of the EUC08 Reemployment Services and Reemployment Eligibility Assessments Program: Findings from Nine States
(Final Report, June 2015)
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008 (EUC08) Program in Theoretical and Historical Perspective February
(Final Report, February 2011)
Reemployment Studies
Behavioral Interventions to Improve Work Search Among Unemployment Insurance Claimants: Results from North Carolina and Washington
(Final Report, April 2022)
Using Behavioral Interventions to Improve Take-Up of a Reemployment Program
(Final Report, May 2017)
Reemployment Eligibility and Assessment (REA) Program Evaluation
(January 2017)
A Study of the Self-Employment Assistance Program: Helping Unemployed Workers Pursue Self-Employment
(Final Report, January 2017)
Exploring Reemployment Strategies for Army Veterans: Implementation of State Pilots
(Final Report, July 2016)
UI Program Operation Studies
Exploring Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program Options for Guam: Options Brief
(Research Brief, October 2024)
Exploring Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program Options for Guam: Technical Appendix
(Technical Appendix, October 2024)
The Great Recession: Lessons Learned for the Unemployment Insurance System
(August 2022)
Alternative Strategies for Financing State Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Deficits, State Experiences in the Aftermath of the 2007 Recession
(Final Report, April 2021)
Challenges and Strategies Used to Operate Unemployment Insurance Programs During the Great Recession
(Final Report, December 2018)
A Comparative Analysis of Unemployment Insurance Financing Methods
(Final Report, January 2018)
Find more research on reemployment and Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) in the Clearinghouse for Labor Evaluation and Research (CLEAR).
Labor Research Scholars and Grants
DOL and CEO fund grants and awards to support academic research that build evidence on labor issues important to the department. Read more about each research program and explore the final reports and datasets.
The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy. CEO’s research development process includes extensive technical review at the design, data collection and analysis stage, including: external contractor review and OMB review and approval of data collection methods and instruments per the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), Institutional Review Board (IRB) review to ensure studies adhere to the highest ethical standards, review by academic peers (e.g., Technical Working Groups), and inputs from relevant DOL agency and program officials and CEO technical staff. Final reports undergo an additional independent expert technical review and a review for Section 508 compliance prior to publication. The resulting reports represent findings from this independent research and do not represent DOL positions or policies.