This post addresses the question: Who claimed the most unemployment compensation during the great recession? This analysis looks at the demographic breakdown–age, gender, race, and educational attainment–of those who made the most claims of unemployment compensation. The Current Population Survey (CPS) measures unemployment compensation as all pre-tax income a person receives from state or federal unemployment compensation, Supplemental Unemployment Benefits (SUB), or union unemployment or strike benefits during the previous calendar year.

Turning first to age, Figure 1, below, shows that those who are the oldest, 65 and up, and those who are the youngest, 15 to 24, made the fewest claims of unemployment compensation during the Great Recession. Those 35 to 44 and those 45 to 54 made the most claims of unemployment compensation. This age trend in unemployment compensation existed prior to the Great Recession and persisted afterwards, too.

Next, I turn to unemployment compensation by gender in Figure 2, below. I find that men claimed more unemployment compensation during the Great Recession than women. Men, in general, claim more unemployment compensation than women, but this difference was most pronounced during the Great Recession.

When it comes to unemployment compensation claims by race, Figure 3, below, shows that American Indians and Blacks claimed the most unemployment compensation during the Great Recession. They are followed by Whites and Asians. Pre- and post-Great Recession, Whites and Blacks trend with each other.

Finally, turning to unemployment compensation by educational attainment, Figure 4, below, shows that those with an Associate’s degree, high school diploma, and some college claimed the most unemployment compensation. Those with a doctoral degree, master’s degree, and less than high school claimed the least unemployment compensation. The surprise here is that those with less than a high school diploma claimed second-to-the-least amount of unemployment compensation.

This post breaks down the demographics of who claimed the most unemployment compensation during the Great Recession. The trends show that the youngest and the oldest workers claimed the least unemployment compensation. Men claimed more compensation than women. American Indians and Blacks claimed the most unemployment compensation during the Great Recession. And, those with more educational attainment tended to claim the least unemployment compensation–except for those with less than a high school diploma, which presents a puzzle.

Source: https://cps.ipums.org/cps-action/variables/INCUNEMP#description_section