Treatment of revised unemployment rates in Extended Benefits triggers

U.S. Department of Labor
Employment and Training Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210
Classification: UI
Correspondence symbol: TEURA
Issue date: November 18, 1993
Rescissions: None
Expiration date: November 30, 1994
Directive: UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 07-94
To: ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
From: MARY ANN WYRSCH, Director, Unemployment Insurance Service
Subject: The Incorporation and Treatment of Revisions to the 3-Month Average Total Unemployment Rate Used As a Trigger Mechanism for the Extended Benefits (EB) Program

1. Purpose. To provide State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) with information regarding the incorporation and treatment of revisions to the 3-month average total unemployment rate (TUR) used as an alternative trigger for the EB Program.

2. Background. Title II, Section 201 of Public Law 102-318 amended the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 by providing for an alternative trigger mechanism for determining a State's eligibility to pay EB: a 3-month average seasonally adjusted TUR. The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is the official source of this data.

   The criteria necessary for a State to be eligible to pay 13 weeks of EB based on the TUR trigger are: (a) the average rate of total unemployment (seasonally adjusted) for the most recent 3-month period for which data for all States are published must equal or exceed 6.5 percent; (b) that rate must equal or exceed 110 percent of the rate for the corresponding 3 months in either of the prior two years; and (c) the State must have a provision in its law to utilize the TUR as an alternative EB trigger. If the 3-month average TUR equals or exceeds 8.0 percent and is at least 110 percent of the TUR for the corresponding 3-month period in either of the prior two years, the State enters a "high unemployment period" in which 20 weeks of EB are payable.

3. Revisions to Historical Data. At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely makes revisions to its historical data. The labor force, employment and unemployment data are revised to incorporate updated population data from the Bureau of the Census and any revisions in other data sources; seasonal adjustment factors are modified and econometric models are re-estimated to include the experience of that year; and the monthly estimates are "benchmarked" to equal the CPS annual averages.

   Effective immediately, these revised historical data will be incorporated in the computation of TUR percentages of prior years as soon as they are published. However, no State's EB status will change retroactively based on revised data. BLS will be the official source of all data used to make the EB 3-month average TUR computation, and BLS will make all of these computations using their standard methodologies.

4. Action Required. State Administrators are requested to provide the above information to all appropriate staff.

5. Inquiries. Direct questions to the appropriate Regional Office.