Firms and unemployment insurance take-up

Arbeitspapier

We use administrative data to quantify the firm role in unemployment insurance (UI) take-up. First, there are firm effects in both claiming and appeals, and, consistent with deterrence effects, these are negatively correlated. Second, low-wage workers are less likely to claim and more likely to have their claims appealed than median-wage workers, and firm effects explain a large share of these income gradients. Third, high-claiming and low-appealing firms are desirable firms: they are higher-paying and have lower separation rates. Finally, the dominant source of targeting error in the UI system is that eligible workers do not apply. Our findings emphasize a novel dimension of the role of firms in the labor market, and have implications for the financing of UI.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: Upjohn Institute Working Paper ; No. 22-369

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Business Taxes and Subsidies including sales and value-added (VAT) ; Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs ; Unemployment Insurance; Severance Pay; Plant Closings ; Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior: General
• Subject: Unemployment insurance ; take-up rates ; UI claims ; appeals ; firm effects

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Lachowska, Marta ; Sorkin, Isaace ; Woodbury, Stephen A.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research
• (where): Kalamazoo, MI
• (when): 2022

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.17848/wp22-369
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/262397
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET