Can I Collect Unemployment Compensation in New Jersey?
- To determine your eligibility, New Jersey will look at a 52-week period the state calls your "base year." The base year depends on the date you file your claim for benefits. If you're filing your claim in January, February or March, then your base year is the 52-week period that ended the preceding September 30. If you're filing in April, May or June, your base year is the 52-week period that ended last December 31. If you're filing in July, August or September, your base year is the 52-week period that ended last March 31. And if you're filing on October, November or December, it's the 52-week period ending last June 30. If your earnings in your base year aren't sufficient to make you eligible, the state will look at alternatives (see Resources).
- You establish eligibility by earning wages from "covered employment" during your base year. Covered employment is any job in which your employer paid New Jersey unemployment taxes on your behalf. There are two different earnings tests; if you meet either test, you are eligible. The first is based on weekly earnings: You must have earned a certain amount in wages in at least 20 different weeks during your base year; as of 2011, that weekly amount was $145. The second is 52-week earnings: You must have earned at certain total amount during your base year; as of 2011, that amount was $7,300.
- Regardless of how much you made, you can claim benefits only if the state determines that you are unemployed "through no fault of your own." If you quit your job or were fired for good cause, such as misconduct, you probably won't be eligible. The state will check with your former employer about your reasons for leaving. To receive benefits, you must also be "available to work," meaning you would be ready to start a job immediately if one were offered, and be actively seeking work. Job-seeking includes filling out applications, making phone contacts with potential employers and going on job interviews. If you're offered suitable work, you must take it.
- Assuming you're eligible for benefits, the actual amount you will receive depends on your base year wages. The state calculates your average wage for the weeks that you worked in your base year, and then pays you a weekly benefit of 60 percent of that average wage. The maximum weekly benefit as of 2011 was $598. You generally qualify for one week of benefits for each week you worked during your base year, up to a maximum of 26 weeks.