Qualifying for New Jersey Unemployment

• You have several requirements to qualify for unemployment benefits from the state of New Jersey. All of your employment for the 18 months before you apply for benefits must have been performed in New Jersey. You must not have worked for the federal government or as a maritime employee or have served in the military for the same 18-month period, and you must reside in the U.S.
  
  

Applying for Benefits

• You may apply for unemployment benefits online or by phone. The information you should have on hand includes your Social Security number or your Alien Registration Documentation if you have legal resident status. You also need the name, address and telephone number of each employer you worked for over the 18 months prior to the time you apply. And you need to know the beginning and ending dates of your employment for each job and the reason why the employment ended.
  
  

Living in California

• If you move to California after your employment in New Jersey ended but before you filed for benefits, you may file for New Jersey unemployment benefits to be sent to your address in California. Like New Jersey residents, you may file over the Internet or by phone. The Department of Labor and Workforce Development maintains Reemployment Call Centers in Freehold, Cumberland and Union City.
  
  

Changing Your Address

• When you are already receiving benefits at your New Jersey address and you are planning a move to California, you should notify the New Jersey unemployment office as soon as possible. Even if you file a forwarding request with the Postal Service, it cannot forward your unemployment checks from your New Jersey address to your California address. You must report your new address to the unemployment office, and the office will change the address on your check and send it to you in California. You cannot use the online service to change
  
  your New Jersey address to a California address.