Unemployment Insurance Payment Accuracy by State

The Payment Integrity Information Act (PIIA), requires programs to report an annual improper payment rate below 10 percent, and the UI program established a performance measure for states to meet the 10% requirement. For the 2020 reporting period, the national UI program reported an estimated national improper payment rate of 9.17%.

State UI data depicted on this map is based on the 3-year data for the period from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2020. The estimated improper payment rate includes all root causes of overpayments and is based on results of State Benefit Accuracy Measurement (BAM) survey sample (random audits) of paid claims in three major UI programs: State UI, Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE), and Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members (UCX).

Note: UI improper payment data displayed on this page are derived from the BAM program. Readers are strongly cautioned that it may be misleading to compare one state's payment accuracy rates with another state's rates as no two states' written laws, regulations, and policies specifying eligibility conditions are identical, and differences in these conditions influence the potential for error. To compare state laws, please visit oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/statelaws.asp or contact the state directly.