evidence: Expanded Unemployment Programs Likely Slowed the Decline in Unemployment Claims During the Pandemic Recovery The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program extended unemployment insurance (UI) to some workers not typically covered by state unemployment programs. These workers include the self-employed, independent contractors, workers with reduced hours, workers not working due to health or family care responsibilities, and workers with too little earnings in prior quarters to qualify for regular state programs. Since its enactment in the spring of 2020, the PUA program has become an important part of the current UI landscape. States reported over 530 million weeks of claims through the end of May 2021. At the end of May 2021, over 40 percent of all UI claims were in the PUA program.1