How Much Money Do You Make On Unemployment

How Long You Could Receive Ei Regular Benefits

You can receive EI from 14 weeks up to a maximum of 45 weeks, depending on the unemployment rate in your region at the time of filing your claim and the amount of insurable hours you have accumulated in the last 52 weeks or since your last claim, whichever is shorter. Temporary COVID-19 relief

If youre a seasonal worker, you may be eligible for 5 additional weeks of benefits up to a maximum of 50 weeks.

Maximum number of weeks of EI regular benefits payable

To find out the rate of unemployment in your region, visit EI Program Characteristics.

Once the weekly benefit rate is established, it will remain unchanged over the life of your claim.

Are You Eligible For Unemployment

First, make sure you are eligible for unemployment. While it varies based on your state, you generally need two things to qualify. First, you need to have lost your job through no fault of your own. It typically means you are ineligible if you quitalthough there are exceptions, like if you quit because of impossible work conditions. If you are fired for cause, you also are likely ineligible.

You also have to have been employed for a minimum amount of time or have earned a minimum amount in compensation.

Once you find out whether you are eligible, you can file a claim for unemployment benefits. If you’re not sure about your eligibility, check with your state unemployment office. You don’t want to lose out on unemployment compensation because you didn’t think you would qualify.

You Must Be Willing And Able To Work

Most states require workers who are receiving unemployment compensation to be willing and able to work as well as actively seeking suitable employment. In this case, most states define suitable employment as comparable if the wages, hours, and/or working conditions are similar to your previous levels of employment. The employment should also be in line with your prior training, education, and experience.

If you are not physically able to work, then you may consider applying for disability benefits in lieu of unemployment benefits.

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Q&a: How Long Do You Have To Work To Get Unemployment

If you find yourself out of work through no fault of your own, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. However, even if you feel you’re eligible, there are requirements you must meet to officially start receiving unemployment, including having recently worked as an employee for a company. Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, there may be additional ways to qualify for unemployment pay.

In this article, we discuss how long you have to work to get unemployment based on period requirements, work requirements and your earnings.

What Are The Initial Claims

Initial claims are a type of employment report that counts the number of new jobless claims made by people seeking unemployment benefits. The report, which was first issued in 1967, also reveals how many unemployed people are eligible for and receive unemployment benefits. Initial claims can be compared to continuing claims, which measure how long people have been unemployed. The number of people expecting unemployment benefits for the first time is counted in the governments initial claims report. It publishes weekly reports at 8:30 a.m. EST on Thursdays, which track emerging joblessness. It is generally a poor indicator for the economy when a growing proportion of people ready to work are incapable of finding work and must file for unemployment benefits. As a result, financial experts and investors keep a close eye on the initial claims figure.

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Putting It All Together

To find out roughly how much you will receive in benefits, you’ll need to know what formula your state uses, as well as its minimum and maximum amounts and any dependent allowance it might offer. For information on how unemployment is calculated in your state, see Nolo’s Collecting Unemployment Benefits page and select your state.

Here are a couple of examples so you can see how it works:

California replaces half of an applicant’s income, uses the highest paid quarter of the base period, and offers a maximum benefit of $450. If you earned $15,000 in your highest paid quarter, you would divide that by 26 to come up with half of your weekly wages: $576.92. That amount is more than the maximum benefit, so you would be eligible to receive $450 each week in benefits. California doesn’t provide any extra amount for dependents.

Illinois replaces 47% of an applicant’s income and uses the two highest paid quarters of the base period. If you earned a total of $20,000 in those two quarters, you would multiply that amount by .47, then divide it by 26 to come up with a weekly amount: $361.54. The current maximum benefit in Illinois is $418, so you would be entitled to collect the full $361.54. Illinois provides additional benefits to those who have a dependent spouse or child, so you would add these benefits to your weekly total if you were eligible.

How Much Does Unemployment Insurance Pay

Most state unemployment insurance programs replace half of the previous weekly earnings, subject to a certain limit. Prior to the coronavirus epidemic, average weekly UI payments were $387 nationwide, ranging from $215 in Mississippi to $550 in Massachusetts. Because payments are capped, UI replaces a lesser percentage of past wages for higher-income workers than for lower-income workers. At the same time, program formulas vary, and the states with greater maximums have higher replacement rates. Hawaii had the highest UI average replacement rate of 55 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, while D.C. had the lowest average replacement rate of 21 percent.

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Working While On Unemployment

Working while on unemployment is a way to supplement your unemployment income, network, improve your job skills and possibly even get hired for full-time work. Each state has its own policies on calculating unemployment benefits for recipients who work part-time, temporary or odd jobs. Many states allow workers to collect unemployment benefits until their total earnings equal or exceed what they collect on unemployment.

Changes To Support You During Covid

Temporary changes have been made to the Employment Insurance program to help you access EI regular benefits. The following changes are in effect until September 2021, and could apply to you:

• the waiting period may be waived
• a minimum unemployment rate of 13.1% applies to all regions across Canada
• if your regions unemployment rate is higher than 13.1%, well use the higher actual rate to calculate your benefits

Sections on this page impacted by these temporary changes are flagged as;Temporary COVID-19 relief.

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Family Supplement Low Income Families

If you are considered to be part of a low income family, you are eligible to receive extra EI benefits through the Family Supplement. You are;considered to be low-income if:

• your net family income is not higher than $25,921 per year,
• you have children, and
• you or your spouse received the Canada Child Benefit

How much you will receive;is based on your income and the number of children and their ages. This amount will automatically be added to your EI payment.;If you and your spouse claim EI benefits at the same time, only one of you can receive the Family Supplement.

Which Documents Do I Need To File An Unemployment Claim

As with other parts of the unemployment program, required documents vary by state, but some may ask for some combination of the following:

• Driver’s license or state-issued ID card
• Social Security number
• Mailing address
• Your previous employer’s federally issued identification number
• Your work history over the past two years, which should include each employer’s business name and address

Remember that to continue to receive weekly benefits, you may be asked to file a new claim every one or two weeks.

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The $600 Unemployment Booster Shot State By State

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Before the coronavirus, people receiving unemployment benefits in most states got, on average, less than half their weekly salaries.

Now, as millions file claims, many are poised to receive more money than they would have typically earned in their jobs, thanks to the additional $600 a week set aside in the federal stimulus package for the unemployed.

That calculation is based on an analysis of the so-called replacement rate, which is the share of a workers wages that is replaced by unemployment benefits.

Workers in more than half of states will receive, on average, more in unemployment benefits than their normal salaries

Unemployment benefitS less

Actual replacement rate at the end of 2019

Estimated replacement

Mississippi went from replacing 31% of average wages to an estimated 119%

Massachusetts had the smallest change, from 43% to 93%

Hawaii

Unemployment benefitS less than wageS

Greater than wageS

at the end of 2019

New Mexico

Mississippi went from replacing 31% of average wages to an estimated 119%

Vermont

Massachusetts had the smallest change, from 43% to 93%

Colorado

Unemployment benefitS Greater than wageS

Unemployment benefitS Greater than wageS

Actual replacement rate in 2019s 4th quarter

The Massachusetts replacement rate will increase the smallest amount, he found, though it still doubles. Mississippi will have an 88 percentage-point jump, meaning workers there earning an average wage will make roughly $130 more in benefits.

If You Are Unemployed And Confused About How To File For Unemployment This Article Will Tell You Everything You Need To Know About Filing For Unemployment

Being OUT OF WORK is said to be the most challenging phase in the world. Unemployment is one of the worst nightmares someone can imagine, particularly in a competitive period where everyone is attempting to thrive and advance. You may feel worthless, as if all your hard work in school and earlier experience has been for naught, but is being unemployed really such a dreadful situation? My personal experience of going through this stage of life has convinced me that the answer is NO!

Unemployment is definitely not a desirable situation to be in, but it does teach you lessons that you dont get to learn on a regular basis. It teaches you patience, as well as how never to give up and keep your hopes up. Never stop applying, and never give up if you dont think you can. It tells you that if you try hard enough, anything is possible and attainable. Have you ever applied to one job and waited months for a response, or do you keep applying until you obtain the position you want? Im confident youd agree with the latter. It teaches you to be patient while never giving up since success will not come to you; you must go out and acquire it.

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How Long Will I Receive The Additional Weekly Benefit Under The Executive Order

Initially, the bill accounted for 11 weeks of this additional benefit but because of the delay in signing the bill, this may now be 10 weeks. Its not yet clear when states will roll these benefits out, but the additional $300 is slated to cover the weeks starting from Dec. 26, 2020 and ending on or before March 14, 2021. However, youre unlikely to see this money in your unemployment check for at least another few weeks; states need guidance from the Department of Labor on how to implement the bonus payments.

Alternate Base Year Claims

You could be eligible for an alternate base year;claim if you do not have the required 680 hours of work in your regular base year.

The base year for an alternate base year;claim is the last four completed calendar quarters before the week in which you file your claim. You must have 680 hours of work in the alternate base year and still meet all of the other eligibility requirements.

If you file your claim here:

Your base year is the blue-shaded area.

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Understanding Your Base Period And Benefit Year

The amount of UI benefits you may be eligible to receive is determined by wages paid to you during either your primary or alternate base period. The base period is defined by Massachusetts law.

Primary base period

The primary base period is the last 4 completed calendar quarters prior to the effective date of your claim . For most claimants, the primary base period is used to calculate your maximum benefit credit, which is the total amount of benefits you are eligible to receive.

Alternate base period

The alternate base period is the last 3 completed calendar quarters and the period of time between the last completed quarter and the effective date of your claim. The alternate base period can only be used if:

• You don’t meet the minimum eligibility requirements using the primary base period
• Using the alternate base period will increase your maximum benefit credit by 10% or more

How Does The $600 Unemployment Work

Under the CARES Act, an additional 13 weeks were added to every states maximum pay period with an extra $600 weekly payout. People still waiting on a claim from previous weeks can collect their benefits even if the expiration date passes. To apply for unemployment insurance, visit your states website.

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How Much Money Can You Make Before You Lose Your Unemployment

Your benefits will be reduced if you earn more than 50% of your weekly benefits. For example, if your weekly benefit amount is $300, you may earn up to $150 per week from your part-time job. If you get more than $150, your benefits will be decreased and you will not get your maximum possible amount.

Why $600 A Week

When you add $600 to the national average unemployment payment $371.88 a week at the end of 2019 the replacement rate goes from 38 percent to almost exactly 100 percent. In other words, that amount is what it would take for Congress to replace what the average American worker receiving unemployment would have earned.

I would never two months ago have ever thought of advocating for 100 percent income replacement, said Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project. But then when the pandemic hit, it was very different. We needed a policy mechanism to do something that unemployment insurance doesnt usually do, and thats keep people home.

Unemployment benefits are typically meant to keep people afloat but stay low enough to incentivize them to find a job. Now, when seeking work may be both fruitless and dangerous, the incentives have nearly reversed.

But if the goal is to replace everyones wages, why not do it in a manner similar to how other countries are paying large percentages of worker salaries to prevent layoffs? While state unemployment systems are revealing their lack of preparedness for a crisis of this scale, the United States didnt have many options that already existed to quickly get money to the people who will need it, according to Ms. Evermore. The unemployment insurance system is the system we have, she said.

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The Extra Money Will Provide An Uneven Benefit

While an extra $600 a week is enough to replace 100 percent of the average national income, the added benefit will differ depending on where people are and what they typically earn. Ms. Evermore described it as swinging an ax to hit an ant.

A person who earns close to the average weekly wage will roughly get their salary replaced on unemployment, but low-wage workers who lose their jobs are more likely to end up making greater amounts than they were before.

These workers, many of whom work in hard-hit industries like restaurants and retailing, are also those who are more likely to be in urgent need of cash to pay for necessities. However, because minimum and maximum amounts of unemployment benefits vary by state, the proportion of people whose benefits could exceed their normal salaries will be vastly different by state.

Just over half of workers in Arizona, which had a relatively high minimum benefit of $172 before the crisis, are estimated to make more on unemployment than if they were still working, according to Noah Williams, the director of Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Smaller shares of workers stand to gain as much from unemployment benefits in other states, he found. Other factors, like the cost of living, will affect how far an extra $600 a week will stretch.

States with higher minimum weekly unemployment insurance benefits …

Minn.

How To Apply For Unemployment Insurance Benefits

You should apply for unemployment compensation as soon as you are unemployed. Most states will make you wait for one week before you are able to apply for unemployment benefits. However, this is currently waived due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Start by starting your personal information, such as your Social Security Number, previous two years of employment history , the last date you worked, your wage history, and if applicable, information for your union. You may need additional information, such as your education level, military service history, or other information.

Try Applying online first. Most states allow you to apply online, in-person, or over the phone. However, states are currently overburdened with applications and many are not accepting in-person applications. So your best bet is to try online first. Be patient, as many states are running antiquated systems that are not designed to handle the flood of applications they are receiving.

Once approved, you may be required to meet with an employment counselor at some point. You will also have to certify your attempts to continue your job search. Most states require this on a weekly basis.

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