California Unemployment Insurance (UI) Earning Data
Information on pre-UI employment, wage records, and UI benefits for workers in California.
99% of workers in California. Excluded are those who are self-employed, civilian employees of the federal government, military, railroad workers, and a small number of others
Access
Published research suggests that California UI Data may be available for research purposes. While there is no publicly available access procedure, researchers may direct specific questions about obtaining data to a Confidential Data Coordinator at (916) 262-2162, per the website.
Timeline for Access
Unknown.
Lag Time
Unknown.
Cost
Unknown.
Linking
The method for linking is unknown.
Identifiers Available for Linking
- Address
- First and Last name
- Social Security Number
Linking to Outside Data Sources
Unknown.
Data Contents
The California UI Earning data consists of individual-level details on beneficiaries’ pre-UI employment records and their UI benefits. Employment records include information for separation at a pre-UI job and the details about the position. UI benefits include the weeks of benefits the beneficiaries are eligible for and the actual amount they claimed.
Partial List of Variables
Age, ethnicity, race, gender, quarterly income, quarterly UI benefits, pre-UI job information, weekly benefits amount, weeks of benefits claimed
J-PAL Randomized Evaluations Using this Data Set
Sanbonmatsu, Lisa, Lawrence F. Katz, Jeffrey B. Liebman, and Jeffrey R. Kling. 2011."Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program: Interim Impacts Evaluation." Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Other Research Using this Data Set
Fairlie, Robert, and Peter R. Bahr. "The Effects of Computers and Acquired Skills on Earnings, Employment and College Enrollment: Evidence from a Field Experiment and California UI Earnings Records." Economics of Education Review 63, no. C (2018): 51-63.
Lee, Joanne, Karen Needels, and Walter Nicholson. “A Longitudinal Survey of Unemployment Insurance Recipients in Two Regions in California.” Mathematica Policy Research (2017).