Maximum Unemployment Benefits

Maximum Benefit Total

• When you apply for unemployment benefits, you receive written notification from the state agency as to both the weekly benefit amount and the maximum benefits payable. The state agency calculates your benefit amount based on your earnings during what is called the base period. In most states, the base period is the first four of the last five calendar quarters before you apply for benefits. For example, in most states, if you apply for benefits in July 2011, your base period begins in April 2010 and ends in March 2011. In most states, the maximum unemployment compensation you can be paid is the product of 26 (representing weeks) multiplied by your weekly benefit amount.
  
  In Texas and California, however, there is an additional restriction: You cannot receive more than 27 percent of your total, one-year base period wages. So if 26 times your weekly payout exceeds 27 percent of your base period income, your payments will cease when benefits reach 27 percent of your base period amount. (California restricts your maximum award to 50 percent of your total base period wages.)
  
  

Maximum Weekly Benefit Amount

• Each state has its own weekly benefit maximum. In New York, for example, as of 2011, weekly benefits top out at $405. Connecticut is a little more generous, allowing a maximum of $555 per week, while the unemployed who are eligible for benefits in Minnesota can receive as much as $585. Texas pays $415 as a weekly maximum.
  
  

Federal Extended Benefits

• During times of economic downturn, the federal government may provide funding to extend unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed. Though the states still administer the extensions, their terms -- including number of weeks and maximum benefit amount -- depend on the federal legislation passed to create the extension. As of 2011, the federal government has enacted three successive extensions to unemployment benefits in the interest of supporting those who are unable to find paying work.
  
  

Federal-State Extended Benefits

• Just as with federal extensions, rules regarding federal-state extended benefits depend on relevant law. In California, for example, federal-state extensions may require more stringent eligibility standards. Workers may be required to document their job searches and accept offers of positions that lie outside their usual fields.