If you, or someone you know is out of work, don't panic. Help is out there if you qualify for unemployment assistance.
In fact, millions of Americans are out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic and its after effects. Even before the pandemic, back in 2019, nearly 6 million people were out of work.
Recent estimates put the unemployment rate at close to 8%, which means that over 12.5 million people in the U.S. are out of a job. In December 2020 alone, nearly 900,000 people filed for unemployment claims in December 2020, which is much higher than average.
The good news is that unemployment benefits are available from the government, and you might qualify for weekly payments, directly deposited into your bank account. By filing for a claim online, or in your local unemployment office, you might qualify for compensation from your previous employer's unemployment insurance.
Unemployment insurance is a form of insurance that the U.S. government requires employers to carry. If you lose your job because your place of work shuts down, for example, you can most likely qualify for unemployment insurance payments, or unemployment benefits.
Unemployment benefits typically pay for a percentage of your prior salary, and payment is usually in the form of a direct deposit, right to your bank account. Most states require you to apply every week for benefits.
The first step toward getting unemployment money is locating your local unemployment office.
Each state within the U.S. has its own unemployment office that controls the amount of money you can. Your local unemployment office also determines who qualifies for assistance. The only way to get unemployment money is by applying and qualifying through your local or state agency.
For example, if you live in Arizona, you would apply, or locate your local agency, through the Arizona Department of Economic Security's website. If you live in Nevada, you can file an unemployment insurance claim through Nevada's Unemployment Insurance Claim Filing System.
In most cases, you must live for most of the time in the state where you are applying for benefits. Even if your last job was at a different state, unemployment benefits are almost always paid out by your local state agency.
Now that you know what unemployment insurance is, and where to apply, the next step is signing up, if you think that you might qualify.