Unemployment Benefits Qualifications

• Each state has its own specific guidelines for unemployment benefit qualifications. While the requirements vary slightly from state to state, some of the eligibility requirements are the same. You must be unemployed through no fault of your own, and being laid off typically meets that requirement. You must also have had a job that paid into the state unemployment insurance fund. The specifics on this type of covered employment vary by state. States typically have a wage requirement, such as earning an average amount each week or during the base period.
  
  

Base Period Explained

• The base period is used by each state unemployment agency to both determine eligibility for benefits and the amount of your weekly benefit amount. All states define the base period as the first four of the previous five calendar quarters. Quarters are three-month periods starting with January. The current quarter does not count in this calculation. In some instances, claimants are allowed an alternate base period of the previous four completed calendar quarters. Usually, this happens when enough money was not earned during the standard period to qualify for benefits.
  
  

Problems You May Encounter

• To receive unemployment benefits, each state requires that you be ready, willing and able to accept new employment. Usually this is defined as having your days free, not your nights. The fact your job may have been only on nights and weekends is irrelevant. As someone under age 16, you are more than likely spending your days at school. If you graduated early, this would be an exception. If you do qualify for benefits, it is possible that you may not earned enough during the base period for payout since it is not very common for someone under age 16 to have 18 months of work history.
  
  

Filing For Unemployment

• If you are ready to file for unemployment, your state may offer more than one method to do so. It varies by state, but you may have the choice to file online, over the phone or in-person. Your specific filing options can be found on your state's unemployment website, which you can find via the America's Service locator site (see Resources). To file, you will need your Social Security number and employment history for the past 18 months. This includes dates of employment, employer addresses and the names of supervisors.