unemployment benefit

noun

1. an allowance of money paid, usually weekly, to an unemployed worker by a state or federal agency or by the worker’s labor union or former employer during all or part of the period of unemployment.

noun

1. (in Britain, formerly) a regular payment to a person who is out of work: replaced by jobseeker’s allowance in 1996Informal term: dole
2. (in New Zealand) a means-tested monetary benefit paid weekly by the Social Security Department to the unemployed