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August 2, 2008Weathering Job Loss - Summary |
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From Urban Institute: Low-wage jobs are often characterized by uncertainty and unpredictable gaps in employment. A majority of workers in these jobs do not have access to the temporary income of unemployment insurance to tide them over when they suffer a job loss. This summary outlines recommendations for updating the program by extending benefits to more workers through changes in eligibility rules and establishing more uniform periods of benefit receipt. Low-wage jobs are often characterized by uncertainty and unpredictable gaps in employment. Few low-income families have enough assets to tide them over after a job loss. And many don't have access to the temporary income of unemployment insurance, since the program's eligibility requirements can work against low-income families.We recommend updating the program to extend benefits to more workers and better reflect changes in the labor force. In about 1.5 million of those families, no adult in the household was working. Bouts of unemployment for low-income families can be long--- the average spell in 2006 was 21 weeks, compared with an average 17 weeks for all workers. Unemployment insurance (UI) is part of the social safety net designed to catch families after a job loss, often keeping them from sliding into poverty.
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