What Is Unemployment Insurance?

Unemployment insurance benefits are a temporary means of providing financial assistance to individuals and households who have experienced of job loss or not able to work enough hours each week to put food on the table, pay for bills, and otherwise meet normal monthly expenses. Unemployment benefits programs are administered jointly through the federal government and each individual state Department of unemployment (which may go by different names such as Department of Social Services were Department of welfare). Federal laws outline the overall structure of unemployment insurance throughout the country but also allow for individual states to set specific guidelines and requirements that their citizens must meet before any unemployment funds are paid out.

In this article will answer the question “What Is Unemployment Insurance?” By reviewing general unemployment qualification guidelines and discussing extension benefits that may be available to you.

Qualify For Benefits

To qualify for unemployment insurance in the show that you’re of a job or underemployed due to no fault of your own. Typical “no fault” scenarios include a job closing its doors, filing for bankruptcy and laying employees off, or dismissing workers due to the completion of temporary or seasonal employment. Individuals must also be willing and able to find a new job as soon as possible. Unemployment insurance is only met to be a temporary benefit.

Every stable also look at how much money you made in your prior work before applying for benefits. Some states will look at the prior 18 months of work history while others will examine the past 24 months. In all cases each state will want to know if you earned a minimum amount of income to meet that particular states threshold statutory requirements. These thresholds are in place to ensure that your prior employers paid a sufficient amount of unemployment tax before you apply for unemployment benefits compensation. Check with your particular state to determine what the income threshold is.

Extension Benefits

Most states will provide unemployment benefits for a predetermined number of weeks that usually ranges between 13 and 26. If you still do not have a job after this period of time has run out you may then file for federal unemployment benefits extension payments. This extension of unemployment benefits often times automatically happen because your state’s Department of welfare will file all the necessary paperwork for you to receive the federal extension. Other states will ask for your input and for you to submit additional paper before the federal extension benefits will kick in. Unemployment extension benefits are available under current laws for up to 53 consecutive weeks.

After federal extension benefits have been exhausted most states have emergency benefit programs that will pay up to another 20 weeks worth of benefits. All told, individuals in the right circumstances could receive a maximum of 99 weeks worth of unemployment compensation checks – almost 2 years worth of benefits!

Recent legal trends suggest that the availability of 99 weeks of unemployment compensation will not last for long. Several states already have or are moving towards reducing their initial payout by lowering the number of weeks compensation will be given. Furthermore, extended benefits through the federal government’s program will be reduced beginning in January of 2012.

Hopefully this article has been helpful in answering the question “What Is Unemployment Insurance?”

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