The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, administered by the Department of Employment Services (DOES), represents the proceeds from unemployment taxes paid by private sector employers and reimbursements from the District and federal governments deposited in the Unemployment Trust Fund (the “Fund”). The Fund is used to pay benefits for private and public sector employees during periods of unemployment. Payments include transfers to other governments to reimburse unemployment benefits paid to District residents.

Trust funds are fiduciary funds that are used to account for assets held by the District in a trustee capacity or as an agent for individuals, private organizations, and other governments. Such trust funds are custodial in nature, reporting only assets and liabilities. Because fiduciary funds cannot be used for the operations of the government, they are not included in the District's government-wide financial statements.

Prior to FY 2005, these agency trust funds were included in the operating budgets of the agencies that administered the trust funds. The District created a separate agency fund in FY 2005 so that the District’s budget structure would report these trust funds pursuant to the District's accounting structure. The Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund was separated from the DOES budget for improved fiscal transparency and to enable the District's budget format to more closely follow the presentation of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.