Does Employment Security know how much is issued each year in excess unemployment benefits?
A. Each year, the department audits a sample of unemployment claims to measure the accuracy of the benefit payment system. An internal audit sampled 480 out of 319,440 unemployment claims paid in 2008 and found that 88.6 percent were paid accurately. Overpayments were found in 11.4 percent of the reviewed claims. About 90 percent of overpayments occur because inaccurate information is provided by claimants or by employers. Common issues include claimants not telling the truth about why they lost their jobs and employers misreporting wages on quarterly tax reports. Another primary cause of overpayments is claimants not actively looking for work while collecting benefits. Agency errors, such as approving training for claimants who were not eligible and data-entry mistakes, account for a very small percentage of all overpayments.
A. Each year, the department audits a sample of unemployment claims to measure the accuracy of the benefit payment system. An internal audit sampled 480 out of 450,000 unemployment claims paid in 2010 and found that 89.1 percent were paid accurately. Overpayments were found in 10.9 percent of the reviewed claims. About 95 percent of overpayments occur because inaccurate information is provided by claimants or by employers. Common issues include claimants not reporting or misreporting earnings, not telling the truth about why they lost their jobs and employers misreporting wages on quarterly tax reports. Another primary cause of overpayments is claimants not actively looking for work while collecting benefits. Agency errors, such as approving training for claimants who were not eligible and data-entry mistakes, account for a very small percentage of all overpayments.
