Minimum earnings and Pennsylvania unemployment compensation

| May 9, 2019 | Unemployment Compensation

If you have recently become unemployed in Pennsylvania, it is important that you find a new source of income as soon as you can. While your primary goal will be to find a new job as soon as possible, you may be able to get financial support from the government while you are searching.

Unemployment compensation is available for job seekers in Pennsylvania under certain circumstances. In order to be eligible, you must not have been fired due to any fault of your own. Additionally, you must be actively searching for a job, and you must have been paid a minimum amount in the time leading up to your job termination.

What is the minimum amount I need to have earned?

When applying for unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania, assessors will look at your past employment history. In order to determine your eligibility, they will look at what you earned on average during your “base period”.

Your base period is the one-year period that ended one quarter before your employment was terminated. During this time period, you must have had at least 18 credit weeks. A credit week counts as any week, running from Sunday through Saturday, in which you earned $116 or more.

If you do not meet the earning requirements, you may be able to request a redetermination. You may be able to ask assessors to calculate your payments using an alternative base year.

If you are struggling to gain unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania, it is important that you take the time to fully understand the eligibility requirements. By doing so, you will be able to address any issues in your application more competently.