Characteristics of Unemployment Insurance Applicants and Benefit Recipients — 2022 — 2023-03-29

In 2022, about one-quarter of the unemployed (26 percent) who worked in the past 12 months had applied for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Of the unemployed who had not applied for benefits, more than one-half (55 percent) did not apply because they did not believe they were eligible to receive UI benefits. Only people who have previously worked are eligible for UI benefits, and they generally must apply shortly after separating from their last job. Therefore, estimates presented in this news release are restricted to people who had worked at some point in the 12 months prior to the survey. In 2022, about two-thirds of the unemployed had worked in the last 12 months. Other unemployed people, including those who entered the labor force for the first time and those who last worked more than a year ago, are excluded from these data.