Calculating Idaho Unemployment Insurance Benefits

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Laid-off workers in Idaho can collect up to 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance benefits.   Here are some of the requirements needed in order to qualify for receiving benefit payments:

• You must be totally or partially unemployed through no fault of your own (if you’re fired or quit, you can’t qualify for benefits).

• Be a U.S. citizen or legally authorized to work in the U.S.

• Establish monetary entitlement to benefits by having sufficient earnings in the base period: You must have worked and been paid wages for employment in at least two of the quarters in your base period.  You must have been paid at least $1,872 in wages in one of those quarters. The total wages paid in your base period must equal one and a quarter times your highest quarter wages.

• You must be available for full-time work.

• You must be able to perform full-time work.

• You must be willing to actively seek full-time work.

Benefit payments to unemployed Idahoans vary based on salary and years in the workforce.  The Department of Labor uses two calculations to determine the benefit amount and the duration of the benefit.  It’s different for every person.  The minimum benefit is $72 per week for ten weeks.  The maximum benefit is $336 per week for 26 weeks.