unemployment insurance

noun

: social insurance against involuntary unemployment that provides unemployment compensation for a limited period to unemployed workers

Examples of unemployment insurance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed employment data from a quarterly tally of unemployment insurance filings, which are considered highly accurate, county-level counts of pay and staffing. Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 21 Mar. 2026 Iowa in 2022 cut its unemployment insurance from 26 weeks to 16, and a federal program for workers who lost their jobs due to foreign trade has expired. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN Money, 19 Mar. 2026 Mastrocinque and Grant sought unemployment insurance benefits in 2020 and 2021, police said. City News Service, Daily News, 15 Mar. 2026 Investigators said the pair submitted allegedly fraudulent unemployment insurance applications in 2020 and 2021. Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for unemployment insurance

Word History

First Known Use

1923, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of unemployment insurance was in 1923

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Cite this Entry

“Unemployment insurance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unemployment%20insurance. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.

Legal Definition

unemployment insurance

noun
: a social insurance program that provides unemployment compensation for a limited period to involuntarily unemployed workers

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