Base Period Explained

Base Period Shown by Shaded Months

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters.

Your base period is controlled by the effective date of your claim, not by the date you become unemployed. Using the table above, if your claim is effective during the first three months (the first quarter) of the year, then your base period is the first three quarters in last year plus the last quarter of the previous year. This is true even if your claim is effective on March 31, the last day of the quarter. If your claim is effective during the period April 1 through June 30, your base period is the four quarters of the prior year.