unemployment compensation

noun [U] (also unemployment insurance)

Definition

› GOVERNMENT in the US, money that is paid by the government every week to unemployed people who lose their jobs and are trying to find work. Unemployment compensation is financed by taxes paid by employers: About 4,000 to 5,000 jobless Arizonans have been first-time filing for unemployment compensation each week. Under federal regulations, undocumented workers aren't eligible for unemployment insurance.

(Definition of unemployment compensation noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)