Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Oct 08, 2025

How to file for unemployment benefits if you lose your job in an economic downturn

How to file for unemployment benefits if you lose your job in an economic downturn

Tech and media layoffs are sweeping the US. If a recession results in more job losses, it's important to know how to get benefits.

A wave of layoffs is sweeping the US. 

Big tech companies like Facebook parent Meta, Amazon are shedding thousands of jobs each, and even Microsoft is dropping workers, a company which analysts have considered to be "recession-proof." 

Businesses like Amazon are seeing their revenue grow at the slowest rate in decades, citing inflationary pressures and a lingering labor shortage that are keeping costs up. It's not necessarily a signal of a recession already in progress — it's closer to an economic cool down — but many economists believe a recession, at least a soft one, is likely next year. 

The Fed typically tackles inflation by raising interest rates, so companies are likely to jettison more workers in the next year to compensate for their higher business costs.

That's especially true for the tech industry, which finds itself compensating for years of investing in mass expansions during the early pandemic tech boom. 

"At the start of COVID-19 in early 2020, the world rapidly moved online and a surge of e-commerce led to outsized revenue growth. Many people predicted this would be a permanent acceleration that would continue even after the pandemic ended," Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a November memo to employees on why he cut 11,000 jobs at Meta.

"I did too, so I made the decision to significantly increase our investments. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way I expected," he wrote. 

To be sure, most Americans probably aren't at risk of losing their jobs, as many companies are still struggling to find workers. October alone saw over 10 million job openings. But the tech layoffs show that not every position or industry is safe, and that many workers could be losing their paychecks in the event of a recession.

Here's how to file for unemployment insurance benefits, whether you're laid off, furloughed, or have had your hours severely reduced.


How to determine whether you're eligible for unemployment insurance


Unemployment insurance is jointly run by the state and federal government, so while the application procedure can vary by state, the overall process and eligibility requirements are more or less the same.

As the US Department of Labor outlines on its website, you will typically qualify for benefits if you:

*  "Are unemployed through no fault of your own. In most states, this means you have to have separated from your last job due to a lack of available work."

*  "Meet work and wage requirements. You must meet your state's requirements for wages earned or time worked during an established period of time referred to as a 'base period.' (In most states, this is usually the first four out of the last five completed calendar quarters before the time that your claim is filed.)"

*  "Meet any additional state requirements. Find details of your own state's program."

A worker sweeps the floor after closing time at McSorley's Old Ale House, NYC's oldest Irish saloon, on March 16, 2020.


States loosened their unemployment benefits criteria substantially at the beginning of the pandemic, but they largely expired by Labor Day last year. Congress also temporarily increased unemployment benefits for self-employed workers, gig workers, contractors, and part-time employees.

But now, it's back to the status quo: workers with wage and salary positions are typically the only ones who qualify for unemployment insurance again. And states have also generally reinstated parts of the application process and identity-verification measures that they got rid of earlier in the pandemic. 

But when in doubt, apply, Andrew Stettner, a senior fellow at The Century Foundation, told Insider. 

Many state unemployment websites include benefit rate calculators to help you estimate your weekly benefit amount.


Fill out an application through your state's unemployment website 


You should apply for unemployment insurance as soon as you're no longer working. There's usually a one-week unpaid waiting period before you can start receiving benefits, but many states, including New York, California, and Ohio, have waived it.

"Just apply. Don't wait," Heidi Shierholz, a senior economist and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, told Insider. "There's no reason to wait a week because you can start getting those benefits a soon as possible. It's good for you, it's good for the economy."

Depending on the state, unemployment insurance claims can be filed in person, on the phone, or online. Most states encourage online applications. You should file your claim with the state where you were working. If you now live in a different state than the one where you worked, or if you worked in more than one state, the state unemployment insurance agency where you now live can give you information about how to file claims with other states, according to the US Department of Labor.

"Start with your state's unemployment insurance benefits site. You're going to get the most recent and accurate information there and really to learn exactly what documents you need to start gathering," Erik Josowitz, an analyst at insurance marketplace InsuranceQuotes, told Insider. 

You'll typically need:

*  your social security number

*  driver's license number of alien registration number and expiration date, if a non-citizen

*  information on all your employers in the past 18 months, including company name, supervisor's name, address (mailing and physical location), and phone number

*  the Employer Registration number or Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) of your most recent employer (FEIN can be found on your W-2 forms)

*  the reason for working reduced hours or no longer working with the employer

*  wages earned and how you were paid (e.g. hourly, weekly, monthly)

*  your most recent separation form (DD 214 form) if you served in the military

It typically takes two to three weeks of processing time after you file your claim to get your first payment, according to the Department of Labor.

Depending on the state, you can choose to receive your payment in the form of direct deposit, a check, or a debit card.


Keeping searching for work, even if getting hired seems unlikely


During an economic downturn or recession, one of the baseline requirements for unemployment benefits may seem like a roadblock: that the applicant must be actively seeking a job. For now, the job market is still hot, so it shouldn't be a problem. But in the event that companies stop hiring, it's important to continue to take active steps to look for work.

Each state has its own requirements for what counts as looking for a job. In New York, for example, claimants must keep an online or written weekly "work search record" to provide if the Department of Labor asks for it. The record should include dates, names, addresses, and numbers of employers contacted, names and/or job titles of specific people contacted, contact methods used, positions applied for, or a description of attending job fairs or workshops. 

In California, you're required to recertify online every two weeks.

Applicants should still make every effort to search for work even if the likelihood of getting hired seems nonexistent, according to Stettner.

You must be actively seeking work to keep receiving unemployment benefits.


In most states, unemployment benefits last up to six months


Most states pay benefits for 26 weeks, or about six months, Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst for social insurance at the National Employment Law Project, told The New York Times.

During periods of high unemployment, claimants may be eligible for extended benefits. For example, in the early days of the pandemic, the CARES Act extended unemployment benefits by an additional 13 weeks, for a total of up to 39 weeks through the end of 2020. 

The Department of Labor lists all 50 states' unemployment insurances offices with phone numbers and links to informational websites.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×