The correlation between education level and characteristics of claimants filing for unemployment insurance in the Arkansas/Mississippi Delta area

Unemployment insurance (UI) provides unemployed workers with compensation to avoid poverty while searching for stable jobs. With rising unemployment in the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta region, UI has helped workers and alleviated strain on local economies. Informed by a theoretical frame of reference that combined fundamental economic theory with unemployment theory, this exploratory correlational research examined the relationship linking applicant education levels with receipt of UI and labor market trends as measured by UI recipient income, number of jobs held, monthly rates of employment and ratio of job loss to new hires to identify predictable patterns of UI payments. These trends can be used by UI administrators to understand the job market and describe any stratified social impact on the available labor force. Data were obtained from the Arkansas Department of Labor and examined using Pearson product-moment correlation to map patterns linking education with UI and labor market factors. Only a slight correlation (r=-.25) was observed between recipient education and claims filed over a ten year period. The implications of these findings regarding the UI program suggests investing further research and study in investigating the individual and market factors that affect why people resign or are fired from work. The current study contributes to positive social change by providing initial information to help inform and guide more focused studies that can lead to improvements in workforce development.