Exact Answer: 26 Weeks
Unemployment is one of the major problems in today’s world. Getting back on your foot can be hard. We keep searching for jobs until we get a good one without any source of income.
Then, how do we take care of our expenses? Many states offer unemployment benefits which will be very helpful for us these days. But they don’t last long. Properly using the benefits is very important. We will see everything about the unemployment benefits in detail.
How Long Can A Person Get Unemployment Benefit?
| States | How long the benefits can be used? |
| Georgia | 14 weeks |
| Florida | 12 weeks |
| Kansas | 16 weeks |
| Missouri | 13 weeks |
| Montana | 28 weeks |
The unemployment benefits depend on the state you were working at the time you lost the job. It also depends on the reason you lost the job. You might have quit or you might have been fired for bad performance in your job or for stealing or for some other accusations there can be different reasons for each. You will receive your unemployment benefits based on all these things.
Most of the states offer unemployment benefits of up to 26 weeks and some states shorter than that and very few states provide benefits longer than that. Consider you are a newly unemployed person and the reason for your unemployment is not your fault. Now your benefits are based on the period of time you have worked and the money you have earned while working.
After applying for unemployment insurance you may have to wait for a week or more to get the benefits. Another important thing is that you have to keep looking for a new job while using your unemployment benefits because these benefits are not forever.
Note that you will not be provided with unemployment benefits in any states of the reason for your unemployment is mainly your fault. The unemployment benefits are different in each state.
The first thing you have to do after losing a job is to contact the department of the state you were working in to find about the process of claiming the unemployment benefits in the particular state. Make sure to follow the process properly to claim your benefits.
Why Can A Person Get Unemployment Benefits For 26 Weeks?
In some states, you should have worked for 6 months or more to be eligible for unemployment benefits whereas in some states you should have earned a certain amount of money to be eligible for the compensation. As I said before, the unemployment benefits are not forever. These benefits are temporary. After applying for the benefits you should keep looking for a new job because if you are not actively looking for a new job the benefits will end earlier than the actual time period.
Normally you can get the benefits for up to 26 weeks or 6 months but the benefits end as soon as you get a new job. Consider a situation where your hometown is a different place and you are working in a different place. Then, your eligibility for the benefits is based on the state you were working in. Applying for unemployment benefits is a tedious process.
First of all, you have to make sure that you are eligible for these benefits as per your state requirements, you should know the complete information about these benefits like important phone numbers, the amount you can get weekly, and so on.
Two programs help us with the extension of the unemployment benefits. This can be used only when you do not have a job for a longer period due to some unfortunate reasons. These programs are Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits. The maximum extension period can be up to 99 weeks. The eligibility criteria for these programs are different.
Conclusion
There are still people out there who need help and are unaware of these benefits. Therefore it is our responsibility to help people know about unemployment insurance. Everyone must learn the importance of unemployment benefits which helps the nation grow.