Unemployed workers are twice as likely to receive unemployment benefits if they live in high-union-density states than if they live in low-union-density states: Average UI recipiency rate (2019) in high-, medium-, and low-union-density states

UI recipiency rate
Low 18%
Medium 25%
High 37%

Notes: The UI recipiency rate in each state is the share of unemployed workers who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits through the state’s regular UI program (i.e., not through federal emergency programs such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance). We use a simple average of UI recipiency rates within the high-, medium-, and low-union-density state groupings. Union density is defined as the share of workers in the state who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable “union” from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata. Low-union-density states are the 17 states with the lowest average union densities from 2015–2019 (all less than 8%). Medium-union-density states are the 17 states (including D.C.) in the middle of the union-density rankings (with union densities ranging from 8.3% to 13.3%). High-union-density states are the 17 states with the highest average union densities from 2015–2019 (greater than or equal to 13.5%). See Table 1 for more detail about these groupings.

The UI recipiency rate in each state is the share of unemployed workers who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits through the state’s regular UI program (i.e., not through federal emergency programs such as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance). We use a simple average of UI recipiency rates within the high-, medium-, and low-union-density state groupings. Union density is defined as the share of workers in the state who are represented by a union, including union members and other workers who are covered by a union contract, based on the variable “union” from EPI extracts of CPS-ORG microdata. Low-union-density states are the 17 states with the lowest average union densities from 2015–2019 (all less than 8%). Medium-union-density states are the 17 states (including D.C.) in the middle of the union-density rankings (with union densities ranging from 8.3% to 13.3%). High-union-density states are the 17 states with the highest average union densities from 2015–2019 (greater than or equal to 13.5%). See Table 1 for more detail about these groupings. We average union density data across 2015 to 2019 for each state to give a more accurate estimate of states’ typical unionization rates over time. We do not include data beyond 2019 in our averages, to avoid any potential distortions related to the 2020–2021 COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recession.

Sources: EPI analysis of 2015–2019 Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group (CPS-ORG) microdata for all workers ages 16 and older; Department of Labor Employment & Training Administration, Unemployment Insurance Data Chartbook.

View the underlying data on epi.org.