Benefits And Wages

Unemployment insurance benefits are based on wages paid for insured work in a one-year period called a "base period." The base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters that are prior to the date of the initial claim, not the date you become unemployed.

Only wages earned with an employer who is covered by the State Employment Security Law can be counted as base period wages. Generally, employment on construction, in factories, mills, show, stores, offices, banks, mines, and other places of business employing one or more persons is covered. The law does not cover some farm labor, some domestic service in private homes, and a few other types of employment.