SNAP AND UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE HELP MILLIONS

The Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which accounts for taxes and non-cash government benefits, shows that SNAP benefits kept 4.9 million people above the SPM poverty line, including 2.2 million children. SNAP is particularly effective at keeping children out of deepest poverty:  in 2012 it lifted more children—1.4 million—above half of the poverty line than any other safety net program.  Unemployment Insurance (UI) kept 2.5 million people, including 600,000 children, above the SPM poverty line in 2012. But federal long-term UI benefits will disappear at the end of December unless Congress acts to keep them.  

A recent USDA study on the relationship between SNAP and UI recipients found that the recession not only increased the number of SNAP households but also altered the mix of participating households. An estimated 14.4% of SNAP households also received UI at some point in 2009—nearly double the estimate of 7.8% in 2005 (a full-employment year). During a recession, households with members whose work histories and earnings would make them eligible for UI if they became unemployed become a larger component of the SNAP caseload, increasing the overall share of SNAP households that also receive UI.

Source: Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 11/6/13, SNAP & Poverty; USDA, 11/13, SNAP & Poverty II