Basic Unemployment Insurance Benefits

• Each state sets its own laws for basic unemployment benefits, including the portion of wages replaced and maximum weekly benefit amount. Basic unemployment lasts 26 weeks in most states. In 2011, Missouri reduced basic benefits for the newly unemployed to 20 weeks. Meanwhile, Michigan and Arkansas reduced benefits to 20 and 25 weeks, respectively, starting in 2012.
  
  

Emergency Unemployment Compensation

• Workers who exhaust their basic unemployment benefits may be eligible for federal temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits. Enacted in 2008, the EUC program provides from 34 to 53 additional weeks of benefits, depending on the unemployment level in the state. In December 2010, President Barack Obama extended the EUC program through the end of 2011.
  
  

Tiers of EUC Benefits

• Emergency Unemployment Compensation is divided into four tiers. Tier I lasts for up to 20 weeks, and Tier II adds up to an additional 14 weeks. All states qualify for Tiers I and II when EUC is enacted. States with unemployment rates between 6 and 8.5 percent qualify for Tier III, which provides benefits for up to an additional 13 weeks. Tier IV provides up to six additional weeks of benefits in states where the unemployment rate is over 8.5 percent.
  
  

Extended Benefits

• The permanent federal-state Extended Benefits (EB) program provides up to an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits. Also known as Tier IV, EB becomes available once basic benefits and all Tiers of EUC for which the state qualifies have been exhausted. Some state laws do not allow unemployed workers to receive Extended Benefits. With the maximum amount of basic, EUC and EB benefits, an unemployed worker could receive 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.