How to Calculate Unemployment Compensation

Calculating the amount of unemployment compensation that you are eligible to receive is a multi-step process requiring you to look at a number of figures. Here's what you need to do to provide yourself with an accurate, reliable estimate of what you can expect to collect.

Instructions

1. Determine the maximum amount of weekly compensation provided by your state. This amount varies significantly depending upon which state you live in, and can be as low as $200 or as high as $600. This is one of the most important figures that you need, and it can be obtained by contacting the department of labor in your state or looking up the information on their official government website.

2. 

   Calculate the date range of your base period. The "base period" is an accounting measurement of the calendar year that is used to help determine how much unemployment compensation you will actually receive based on how much money you earned. If you divide the year into four quarters or three month periods, the base period is the last four months that you worked prior to the month that you are actually applying for unemployment. Use the chart image attached to this step to simplify the calculation process.

3. Figure out what your gross pay was during your base period. This can be determined by requesting records from your employer or looking at your old paycheck stubs and adding up your totals. Some states will look at the total amount that you earned during the base period while others will look at the highest quarter.

4. Find out your state's unemployment calculation formula. Each state has a different formula for calculating unemployment compensation and you need to use the one that corresponds to the state that you live in. These formulas can be obtained from your department of labor on their website or in person at a counter location. The formulas generally use your base period gross amount and multiply that by a certain percentage, and then add in extra dollar amounts for things like dependents.

5. Plug in the numbers and run the calculation, then double check your work. Once you know the formula you can plug in your base period gross numbers and make the correct calculation. If the amount that you end up with is higher than the maximum compensation rate that you found in step one then you will receive the capped maximum rate. If your calculation is a lower number then you will receive that lower amount. After you've determined your compensation estimate, run through the formula once more to check your work and make sure that you haven't made any mistakes.