This article covers information concerning what to expect if you need to apply for unemployment insurance benefits. It also describes the situations needed to be eligible for benefits.

As governmental safety nets go, unemployment insurance benefits are a good start. In most instances, the amount collected from unemployment insurance will exceed the net pay from a minimum wage job. Some states have much higher rates than others. Likewise, every state varies in the requirements to be able to collect the payments. Unemployment benefits in every state have some common or, at least, similar elements.

You must not be working.

This is almost true. Actually, many states will pay on what is called under-employed. If you are working less than 20 hours per week at a lower wage level, you probably qualify for some form of unemployment if you were working full time for an extended period previously. By extended period, you must have logged a year or so of continuous employment. The government will use your wage information from this previous job to determine your current benefit level.

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For under-employed workers, the amount of income that you are receiving will be deducted from your benefit amount. You have to report the amount of income each week with your report. Most states will give you a little premium for making some effort at bringing in income. Your benefit will be increased by 5 or 10 percent before your wages are subtracted.

You must be able to work.

If you are a full-time student, you will probably be denied benefits. The government will want to know if you are sick or somehow impaired in a way that would keep you from working. If you are restricted due to family needs, it will likely eliminate you from unemployment insurance benefits. Not having transportation will not usually work against you.

Being fired will not always keep you from collecting.

Employers do not want you to collect unemployment benefits. Each time that you are paid, your employer has to pay a percent of your earnings (from their pocket not yours) to the government to cover unemployment compensation. The percent that is assessed to a company is based on the number of anticipated claims. Usually, this number is derived from previous claims against the same employer. If an employer can keep the claims near zero, the unemployment percent will stay quite low. When several claims are made in a short time, the percent will jump. It saves the company money to fight your claim if they can be successful.

Why you were fired is not as important as whether the company kept good documentation to justify it. If the government sees your discharge as a whim of the company or a supervisor, you will get your benefits. If the company cannot prove they were right to terminate you, you will collect.

Most states will let you collect after quitting a job if you work for a while afterward for another company.

If you work for a company for enough time to be able to collect benefits on your earnings and quit your job, it will automatically disqualify you from unemployment benefits. However, if you go to work for a second company and earn enough money, the government will let you collect from the previous employer’s payments. This is often true even if you quit the second job, too. The trick is you must earn 10 times your weekly benefit from the second employer. If your benefit will be $300 per week, you have to earn $3,000 from the second employer to be able to collect from the first one. In many states, this is not a contestable benefit. You will receive it regardless of whether the first employer fights it or not.