Eligibility

• Eligibility for unemployment varies from state to state, but there are a few requirements most states share. The first is that you have to be unemployed through no fault of your own, and the state's unemployment office will verify the reason your employment ended. You also have to be actively seeking work, physically able to work and willing to accept reasonable offers for work.
  
  

Applying for Unemployment

• Contact the unemployment office of the state where you worked for instructions on how to file your initial claim. You will need the contact information for the employer you worked for. Once you've filed your claim, there may be a waiting period before your benefits begin. For your benefits to continue, you will need to file your claim every week or two, depending on the state.
  
  

Ending Unemployment

• Your unemployment benefits will end when you find a new job or when your benefits are exhausted. Typically, benefits will last 26 weeks, but Congress can extend benefits in times of high unemployment. Your benefits can also end for other reasons, as determined by each state. In Oregon, for example, your benefits will end if you refuse a reasonable offer to work, don't look for work, are found to be going to school full time, or if you're receiving vacation or sick pay.
  
  

Other Benefits

• The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, guarantees the right to continue health insurance coverage after your employment has ended. You do have to pay the full premium, which may be significantly more expensive than the employer subsidized premium you were paying while working. Before you decide whether to continue your health insurance, you should verify that your plan has participating physicians and specialists in your area if you live in a different state than where you worked, especially if you've moved. You can contact your insurance plan to verify coverage, and your human resources office can provide you with premium costs. You may be able to continue other insurance, such as life insurance, as well, depending on your group's policy terms.