unemployment insurance

American  

noun

1. a government program that provides a limited number of payments to eligible workers who are involuntarily unemployed.

---

Etymology

Origin of unemployment insurance

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

unemployment insurance

The decline continued into the early 2020s because the stimulus checks and more generous unemployment insurance payments the government provided at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic helped keep millions of U.S. consumers afloat.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

Goldman Sachs economists suggest this might have reflected some businesses not paying unemployment insurance tax on the behalf of undocumented workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

H-2A employers and employees are exempt from key payroll taxes, including Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

Urssaf is an independent body that collects social charges from both companies and employees to fund France's state-run retirement accounts, unemployment insurance and medical coverage.

From Barron's ● Feb. 2, 2026

He was a proud and independent man who was opposed to unemployment insurance and never hesitated to whine, whimper, wheedle, and extort for as much as he could get from whomever he could.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller