Measuring the coverage of unemployment benefits

How has coverage of unemployment benefits evolved since the 1980s? This article demonstrates that this apparently simple question has many possible answers. The first, and most classic, is that which looks at the number of jobseekers in receipt of benefit. From this vantage point, the unprecedented reconstitution of historic data sets going back to 1985 shows that coverage has never been lower than in the last few years. The second, promoted by the Pole Emploi (the French unemployment office) as well as the public employment institutions UNEDIG and DARES, looks at the number of jobseekers eligible to claim benefits, which has seen continuous growth since 2014. This article analyses the potential effects of this change of definition, paying particular attention to the transition from a functional indicator as to the payment of benefits to one geared towards returning jobseekers to work.