How Much Do I Get If I'm on Unemployment?
The first question a new unemployment claimant asks is how much money you can receive in benefits. The first thing your state labor office will tell you is that your unemployment compensation isn't a salary replacement. When your state calculates your benefits, it reviews your covered base period wages. Normally, it's about half of what you used to earn as wages. After the state performs its calculations, you receive a notice of determination with your weekly benefit amount and maximum benefit amount spelled out.
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Base Period
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The place to start when determining your unemployment compensation amount is with your base period. Your base period is the first four of the last five full calendar quarters before you filed for benefits. If you filed your claim on March 15, 2011, your last full calendar quarter was October 2010 to December 2010. This makes your base period the previous four calendar quarters, from July 2009 to September 2010.
Covered Wages
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When your state determines how much to pay you for unemployment, it doesn't just review your wages during your base period. It only considers covered wages. What counts as a covered wage can vary depending on your state, but usually it is any wage you earned from an organization that paid unemployment taxes on your salary. Most states require the employer to post a notice in the workplace regarding unemployment rights if it pays covered wages.
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Weekly Benefit Amount
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Your weekly benefit amount is the amount your state pays you per week while you collect unemployment. It's based on the covered wages you collected during your base period. The calculation methods vary by state. However, you generally receive half of the average covered wages you earned in your base period as your weekly benefit amount. Each state also has a maximum weekly benefit amount and limits your payments to it.
Maximum Benefit Amount
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Your state also determines your maximum benefit amount on your claim. This is the amount you can collect on unemployment per benefits year, which is the 52 weeks that follow your initial claim. If your state uses the percentage method, it gives you a certain percentage of your covered base period wages as your maximum benefit amount. If it uses credit weeks, it gives you benefits weeks based on the weeks in your base period you meet the credit week criteria. Then you multiple the credit weeks by your weekly benefit amount to determine the total maximum benefits you can receive per year.
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