a smaller than average proportion of claimants were in the primary earner category and more were in the married secondary earner group. The proportion of married secondary earners ranged among the States from 12 to 43 percent of all TEUC claimants. Much of the subsequent analysis of the data describing the claimants studied is cast within this framework of family status which provides a more significant understanding of the characteristics of these workers. Age (chart 2) About 24 percent of all TEUC claimants were 55 years of age or over; about 12 percent were under 25, leaving about 64 percent in the middle, prime-age group of 25-54. The insured unemployed filing under the regular State programs show a similar age pattern, but with a somewhat larger proportion in the youngest and a smaller proportion in the oldest age categories. Comparison with the age distribution of all unemployed workers, including those not drawing unemployment benefits, reveals a sharp contrast at the youngest age level. Close to onethird of all unemployed workers in May were under 25 years of age, over 21⁄2 times the proportion of TEUC claimants and over twice the proportion of regular claim CHART 2 TEUC CLAIMANTS BY AGE COMPARED WITH STATE INSURED AND ALL UNEMPLOYED WORKERS AND THE CIVILIAN LABOR FORCE, BY AGE May 1961 ants in this age category. The younger unemployed include many who have only recently entered the labor force and who have not worked at all or long enough to be eligible for unemployment benefits. A large proportion of the men who were unemployed were in the older age categories than was the case for unemployed women (table 1). Among TEUC claimants, 1 out of 4 men were 55 and over, as compared with about 1 out of 6 women. TABLE 1.-TEUC and State-insured claimants and all unemployed workers, by sex and age, May 1961 About 65 percent of those TEUC claimants who were the primary earners of their families were between 25 and 54; somewhat more were in the older and fewer in the youngest age groups than was true for all TEUC claimants. Married secondary earners (mostly women) were more heavily concentrated in the 25-54 age category (75 percent) while relatively few were in the older age grouping (11 percent), as compared with other claimants. A sharp contrast by age is revealed in a comparison between claimants who live alone and those who are unmarried secondary earners. About 38 percent of the former were 55 years of age or older, compared with only 15 percent of the unmarried secondary earners. The latter group of claimants was very heavily concentrated in the under-25years-of-age category, slightly over 40 percent falling in this age bracket. Though young, these workers must have had substantial employment in order to qualify for unemployment benefits. Dependents Three out of every five TEUC claimants reported that they provided for at least half the support of other persons, including dependents outside as well as within the household. In less than a fourth of the households of claimants who had dependents, one or more of the persons supported in the household were also working. For the most part, these consisted of households of primary earner claimants who had working wives or working children who were considered dependent by the family head. Nearly all of the primary earner claimants (97 percent) were supporting dependents, most two or more dependents. Over a fifth of the claimants who were married secondary earners had dependents either, or both, within or outside the household. About one-sixth of the single claimants (those who live alone) supported other persons, as was the case for a similar proportion of unmarried secondary earner claimants. Employment and unemployment of other household members TABLE 2.-TEUC claimants by participation of other family members in the labor force, May 1961 [Percent] 1 Includes some claimants with 2 or more other family members in the labor force of whom at least 1 was unemployed: Primary earners (4 percent), married secondary earners (8 percent), unmarried secondary earners (13 percent). In the families of slightly over two-thirds of the primary earner claimants, no one else was working, either because there was no one else in the labor force or because those who were were unemployed. Most of the remaining families in this group had only one secondary earner working. Nearly all claimants (96 percent) who were married secondary earners were in families where another person was working or looking for work. (The few families in this group with no others in the labor force were probably those with family heads who received income from sources other than employment-retirement pension, investments, money from relatives outside the household, etc.) Approximately 17 percent of the temporary extended unemployment compensation claimants who were married secondary earners reported others in the family unemployed at the same time. About 83 percent of the households of claimants who were unmarried secondary earners contained other family members who were working or looking for work. Nearly a fifth of such families had another member unemployed in addition to the claimant interviewed. Pensions The temporary extended unemployment compensation law provides that the weekly benefit amount of the claimant shall be reduced by the amount of pension received from a plan provided, or contributed to by a base-period employer,3 excluding disability and social security pensions. Only 3 percent of the claimants received a weekly benefit reduced for this reason. Of course, there were probably a few other unemployed persons who received a pension greater than the amount of the weekly unemployment benefit and who therefore drew no temporary extended unemployment compensation benefits. Only 12 percent of the claimants studied in May 1961 were receiving pensions, including social security payments. This result reflects the limited proportion of claimants who were in the older age category. Of the claimants drawing pensions, nearly 60 percent were receiving social security payments only; the rest drew some other type of pension, although most also received social security. 3 A base-period employer is one for whom the claimant worked during a recent specified period of 1 year preceding his claim for State unemployment insurance. Industry attachment TABLE 3.-Temporary extended unemployment compensation and State insured claimants and all unemployed workers, by industry, May 1961 1 With previous employment in nonagricultural work. Unemployed workers excluded are new entrants, reentrants, agricultural workers, formerly self-employed or unpaid family workers-about 19 percent of all unemployed. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over half of the TEUC (temporary extended unemployment compensation) claimants filing in May had been employed in manufacturing. A somewhat larger proportion of women had worked in such employment as compared with men. About 35 percent of the remaining male claimants had worked in the construction industry. Of the women who had not been employed in manufacturing, 55 percent had worked in retail or wholesale trade. Compared with unemployed workers drawing regular State benefits in May, a somewhat larger proportion of TEUC claimants had worked in manufacturing and a little less in construction. A fairly sharp contrast is shown on a comparison with all unemployed workers, which includes workers not drawing unemployment insurance. Only about 30 percent of all the unemployed had last worked in manufacturing. Even after excluding from the comparison those unemployed who had no recent previous work experience (new entrants and reentrants to the labor force) and those who had been self-employed or who had worked in agriculture, only 37 percent were from manufacturing industries, sharply less than the comparable proportion among claimants alone. Trade and service industries accounted for a considerably higher proportion of all unemployed wage and salary workers than of all claimants. This sharp difference probably arises from the fact that unemployment insurance coverage is much more complete for workers in manufacturing than for those in trade and services where smaller firms, many of which are not covered, are more numerous. Occupation TABLE 4.-Temporary extended unemployment compensation claimants and State insured unemployed, by occupation, May 1961 |