If you've recently lost your job, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. To get benefits, you must meet your state's eligibility requirements.
Although each state has its own rules, every state requires applicants to have had some recent connection to the workforce before they were unemployed, either by earning a certain amount, working a minimum amount of time, or both.
These rules are intended to prevent those who have been out of the job market—raising children or attending school, for example—from collecting unemployment until they've rejoined the workforce for a while.
To make sure applicants have done enough recent work to qualify for benefits, states look at their earnings, time worked, or both during the "base period." In almost every state, the base period is one year: The earliest four of the five complete calendar quarters before the applicant filed for unemployment.
For example, if someone files a claim for unemployment benefits in August of 2022, the base period would be April 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022.
Because the base period doesn't include the quarter in which the applicant files for benefits or the quarter immediately preceding it, it doesn't count the applicant's most recent employment. In fact, it might exclude almost six months of work.
Many states allow workers to count this more recent work if they wouldn't qualify for benefits using the regular base period. In these states, applicants can use an alternative base period consisting of the last four complete calendar quarters before filing for benefits.
If an applicant filed for benefits in August of 2022, the alternative base period would be from July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2022. The alternative base period isn't any longer than the standard base period; it just allows applicants to include more of their recent work in determining their eligibility for benefits.
An applicant who has been out of work for a while (due to a work-related injury, for example) before claiming benefits might not meet the earnings or hours requirements to qualify for unemployment. Some states allow these applicants to use an extended base period, which considers the workers hours and earnings before the injury, even if that work falls outside of the regular base period.
Some states require applicants to have worked a certain amount of time during the base period in order to qualify for benefits. In these states, the typical rule is that the applicant must have done some work in at least two of the calendar quarters in the base period.
Most states require applicants to have earned at least a minimum amount during the base period, either instead of or in addition to the work requirements explained above.
The most common earnings requirements are:
Some states use different methods of calculating earnings. To find out your state's rules, contact your state's unemployment agency. For links to each state's agency, see State Unemployment Agencies.
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