About The Study

In 2017, the Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) partnered with the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) to fund contractor Urban Institute to conduct the Unemployment Insurance Deficit Financing Study. The knowledge development study analyzes states' approaches to financing deficits in their Unemployment Insurance (UI) trust funds. The final report describes implementation of the diverse and complex Federal and state statutes and policies.

Findings are informed by interviews with federal and state government officials and bond market representatives, as well as results from a simulation model comparing the costs of two borrowing methods – municipal bonds and mechanisms in Title XII of the Social Security Act of 1935 and the Federal Unemployment Tax Act of 1939 (FUTA).

The Department of Labor-funded study is a result of the annual process to determine the Department’s research priorities for the upcoming year. It contributes to the labor evidence base to inform unemployment insurance programs and policies and addresses Department strategic goals and priorities.

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 and CEO’s research development process.