Throughout the post World War II period, there has been a declining trend in railroad employment and, consequently, in the number of qualified employees under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act. The number of qualified employees dropped from a peak of 2,400,000 in 1946-47 to a low of 235,100 in calendar year 2010. In calendar year 2015, the number of qualified employees rose to 260,500, the fifth consecutive increase since 2010.
In the 2015-2016 benefit year, unemployment benefits totaled about $72 million[1] and unemployment benefit claimants numbered approximately 16,400. Benefits increased about 133 percent while the number of claimants increased nearly 117 percent in comparison with the previous year.
| Scope of RRB Operations |
- By June 30, 2016, approximately $8.9 billion in unemployment-sickness
benefits had been paid since operations began 77 years earlier.
- About two-thirds of this amount was for unemployment benefits.
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The number of sickness beneficiaries has ranged from 179,000 in 1948-49 to 15,500 in 2015-2016. In the 2015-2016 benefit year, gross sickness benefits of nearly $74 million were paid to almost 16,000 beneficiaries. Net sickness benefits totaled about $55 million, reflecting repayment of a large amount of benefits following settlements of suits for injuries. The number of claimants increased almost 3 percent while net benefits increased approximately
13 percent in comparison with the previous year.
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| [1] Temporary extended benefits under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance act of 2009, as amended by the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010, the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, and the American Tax Payer Relief Act of 2012, have expired with only recoveries being reflected in net benefit amounts. |
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NOTE.--In accordance with the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended by the Budget Control Act of 2011, amounts reflect a reduction of 9.2% under sequestration for days of unemployment
and sickness after February 28, 2013, 7.2% for days after September 30, 2013, and 6.8% for days after
September 30, 2014, and to 6.8 percent for days after September 30, 2015. |