Base Period

• The first step to determining your unemployment compensation amount is to figure out your base period, which will be used to calculate your benefits. Your base period the first four of the last five full calendar quarters before you filed your claim. For example, if you file your claim on Sept. 21, 2011, your base period is April 2010 through March 2011.
  
  

Insured Wages

• Once you know what your base period is, it’s time to identify the insured wages you earned during that time. Insured wages are the ones covered under your state’s unemployment insurance laws. This can vary depending on the state you live in, but most employment is covered, while self-employment and independent contract work is not. If you’re unsure of whether your work counts toward your benefits, you can contact your state’s labor office to help you determine if your previous work is insured.
  
  

State Specific Formula

• The next step after figuring your base period and finding your insured wages is to apply your state’s unemployment compensation formula. This varies by state, so it’s important that you use the one determined by your state law. You can find that in your unemployment claimant handbook or by contacting the state labor office (See Resources).
  
  

State Maximum Laws

• After you’ve used your state’s compensation formula, you should take a look at your state’s maximum benefit laws. These laws prevent you from collecting exorbitant amounts of benefits and set a maximum based on the average wage in the state. Regardless of the amount of insured wages you have in your base period, you can’t collect more than the state’s legal maximum benefit. The state maximum benefit is usually in your unemployment handbook or listed on the state labor office’s website.