In July 2024, 3.16 billion U.S. dollars were paid out in unemployment benefits in the United States. This is an increase from June 2024, when 2.62 billion U.S. dollars were paid in unemployment benefits. The large figures seen in 2020 are largely due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Welfare in the U.S. Unemployment benefits first started in 1935 during the Great Depression as a part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The Social Security Act of 1935 ensured that Americans would not fall deeper into poverty. The United States was the only developed nation in the world at the time that did not offer any welfare benefits. This program created unemployment benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, and maternal and child welfare. The only major welfare program that the United States currently lacks is a paid maternity leave policy. Currently, the United States only offers 12 unpaid weeks of leave, under certain circumstances. However, the number of people without health insurance in the United States has greatly decreased since 2010. Unemployment benefits Current unemployment benefits in the United States vary from state to state due to unemployment being funded by both the state and the federal government. The average duration of people collecting unemployment benefits in the United States has fluctuated since January 2020, from as little as 4.55 weeks to as many as 50.32 weeks. The unemployment rate varies by ethnicity, gender, and education levels. For example, those aged 16 to 24 have faced the highest unemployment rates since 1990 during the pandemic. In February 2023, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV metropolitan area had the highest unemployment rate in the United States.

Unemployment Rate in the United States increased to 4.20 percent in July from 4.10 percent in June of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

The U.S. Department of Labor has been working collaboratively with our state partners to identify several robust strategies that focus on the prevention of overpayments and will yield the highest impact in reducing UI improper payment rates.

Improper Unemployment Insurance benefit payments are most likely to occur when:

Recipients continue to claim benefits after returning to work; Employers or their third party administrators do not submit timely or accurate separation information; and Claimants fail to register with the state's Employment Service (ES) as dictated by state law. Earlier this year, the Department actively intervened to encourage the ten states with the highest Employment Service registration error rates to focus on the issue. Senior DOL officials personally contacted these states to determine specific steps the states would take to address their error rates, and the Department provided targeted technical assistance.

As a result, dramatic progress is being made in this area, with a 23% reduction in improper payments to people who did not register with employment services agencies, including a more than 35% drop in eight states.

State Unemployment Benefits in Illinois was 1982240.00000 Mil. of $ in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, State Unemployment Benefits in Illinois reached a record high of 33312712.00000 in April of 2020 and a record low of 41836.00000 in January of 1948. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for State Unemployment Benefits in Illinois - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

State Unemployment Benefits in Florida was 2227837.00000 Mil. of $ in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, State Unemployment Benefits in Florida reached a record high of 30316640.00000 in April of 2020 and a record low of 7360.00000 in January of 1948. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for State Unemployment Benefits in Florida - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

Continued Claims for UI released by the CT Department of Labor. Continued Claims are total number of individuals being paid benefits in any particular week. Claims data can be access directly from CT DOL here: https://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/claimsdata.asp

Claims are disaggregated by age, education, industry, race/national origin, sex, and wages.

The claim counts in this dataset may not match claim counts from other sources.

Unemployment claims tabulated in this dataset represent only one component of the unemployed. Claims do not account for those not covered under the Unemployment system (e.g. federal workers, railroad workers or religious workers) or the unemployed self-employed.

Claims filed for a particular week will change as time goes on and the backlog is addressed.

For data on continued claims at the town level, see the dataset "Continued Claims for Unemployment Benefits by Town" here: https://data.ct.gov/Government/Continued-Claims-for-Unemployment-Benefits-by-Town/r83t-9bjm

For data on initial claims see the following two datasets:

"Initial Claims for Unemployment Benefits in Connecticut," https://data.ct.gov/Government/Initial-Claims-for-Unemployment-Benefits/j3yj-ek9y

"Initial Claims for Unemployment Benefits by Town," https://data.ct.gov/Government/Initial-Claims-for-Unemployment-Benefits-by-Town/twvc-s7wy

Regional unemployment rates used by the Employment Insurance program, by effective date, current month.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans Benefits by Education: Less Than High School Graduate (CXUOTHBNFTSLB1303M) from 1995 to 2012 about veterans, no college, secondary schooling, secondary, compensation, benefits, workers, tax, education, income, unemployment, and USA.

Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amapá data was reported at 1.448 BRL mn in Oct 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.439 BRL mn for Sep 2023. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amapá data is updated monthly, averaging 2.715 BRL mn from Jan 2000 (Median) to Oct 2023, with 286 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 9.687 BRL mn in Jun 2015 and a record low of 0.330 BRL mn in Nov 2000. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amapá data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Labor. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table BR.GBB058: Formal Employment: by State: Unemployment Insurance.

State Unemployment Benefits in Arizona was 375785.00000 Mil. of $ in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, State Unemployment Benefits in Arizona reached a record high of 18674952.00000 in April of 2020 and a record low of 1604.00000 in April of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for State Unemployment Benefits in Arizona - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: Central West: Mato Grosso do Sul data was reported at 21.953 BRL mn in Oct 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 20.060 BRL mn for Sep 2023. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: Central West: Mato Grosso do Sul data is updated monthly, averaging 21.548 BRL mn from Jan 2000 (Median) to Oct 2023, with 286 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 46.955 BRL mn in Mar 2017 and a record low of 2.548 BRL mn in Nov 2000. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: Central West: Mato Grosso do Sul data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Labor. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table BR.GBB058: Formal Employment: by State: Unemployment Insurance.

Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amazonas data was reported at 4.891 BRL mn in Dec 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 5.273 BRL mn for Nov 2023. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amazonas data is updated monthly, averaging 14.819 BRL mn from Jan 2000 (Median) to Dec 2023, with 288 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 79.840 BRL mn in Aug 2016 and a record low of 1.859 BRL mn in Nov 2000. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Amazonas data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Labor. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table BR.GBB058: Formal Employment: by State: Unemployment Insurance.

United States Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): Continued Claims: US data was reported at 17.945 Person th in 28 Jan 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.107 Person th for 21 Jan 2023. United States Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): Continued Claims: US data is updated weekly, averaging 791.060 Person th from Mar 2020 (Median) to 28 Jan 2023, with 149 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14,884.261 Person th in 22 Aug 2020 and a record low of 6.841 Person th in 19 Nov 2022. United States Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA): Continued Claims: US data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Department of Labor. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G149: Unemployment Insurance: Weekly Pandemic Claims (Discontinued). [COVID-19-IMPACT]

Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Rondônia data was reported at 3.969 BRL mn in Dec 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.336 BRL mn for Nov 2023. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Rondônia data is updated monthly, averaging 8.735 BRL mn from Jan 2000 (Median) to Dec 2023, with 288 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.268 BRL mn in Dec 2014 and a record low of 1.065 BRL mn in Nov 2000. Formal Employment: Unemployment Insurance: Amount: North: Rondônia data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Ministry of Labor. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Labour Market – Table BR.GBB058: Formal Employment: by State: Unemployment Insurance.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans' Benefits, and Regular Contributions by Highest Education: College Graduate: Total (CXUOTHREGINLB1407M) from 2013 to 2023 about veterans, contributions, benefits, compensation, tertiary schooling, workers, education, tax, income, unemployment, and USA.

State Unemployment Benefits in California was 6774317.00000 Mil. of $ in January of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, State Unemployment Benefits in California reached a record high of 198535116.00000 in July of 2020 and a record low of 82648.00000 in April of 1951. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for State Unemployment Benefits in California - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on August of 2025.

In 2023, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was at 7.2 percent in the United States. This was a decrease from the previous year, when the unemployment rate was at 7.6 percent. The high unemployment among persons with disabilities may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted everyone's employment, as can be seen in the unemployment rate of adults in the United States. The persons with a disability section of the Current Population Survey (CPS) is a set of six questions to identify persons who have physical, mental, or emotional conditions that cause serious difficulty with their daily activities. Disability in the labor force The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows the unemployment rate of persons with a disability that have the ability to participate in the civilian labor force. In 2020 around 20.5 percent of persons with disabilities in the United States participated in the civilian labor force. Among those capable of participating in the civilian labor force, persons with a disability tend to have a higher chance of employment the higher their level of education. Persons with a disability that had a bachelor's degree or higher had the highest employment rate in 2020 at 25.7 percent. Social Security benefits Due to the inability to work, or the lack of access to suitable employment, many persons with a disability rely on government sources for financial aid. A portion of civilian paychecks are taxed to fund programs like the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) which provide this aid. In 2018, around 12.46 million disabled persons received OASDI or SSI benefits in the United States.

United States Unemployment Rate: PW: NA: EH: Health Care & Social Assistance (HC) data was reported at 2.600 % in Apr 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 2.600 % for Mar 2025. United States Unemployment Rate: PW: NA: EH: Health Care & Social Assistance (HC) data is updated monthly, averaging 3.200 % from Jan 2000 (Median) to Apr 2025, with 304 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 10.300 % in Apr 2020 and a record low of 2.000 % in Apr 2024. United States Unemployment Rate: PW: NA: EH: Health Care & Social Assistance (HC) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.G037: Current Population Survey: Unemployment Rate.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans' Benefits, and Regular Contributions by Quintiles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 20 Percent (81st to 100th Percentile) (CXUOTHREGINLB0106M) from 2013 to 2023 about veterans, contributions, compensation, percentile, benefits, workers, tax, income, unemployment, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Income Before Taxes: Unemployment and Workers' Compensation, Veterans Benefits by Quintiles of Income Before Taxes: Highest 20 Percent (81st to 100th Percentile) (CXUOTHBNFTSLB0106M) from 1984 to 2012 about veterans, compensation, percentile, benefits, workers, tax, income, unemployment, and USA.