Extended Unemployment Benefits

People who are unemployed in Alabama became eligible for a 13 week extension of unemployment benefits in January of this year. That time period is added to the 20 week extension they were granted in November of 2008. That brings the total extension to 33 weeks.

The second extension became effective because Alabama had over three month with the unemployment rate above 6.1%. This information is according to Tom Surtees, the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations Director. In June, the Alabama unemployment rate rose to around 10%.

Over 178 million dollars has been allocated for the extension of emergency unemployment compensation program. This amount is provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) as part of the economic stimulus plan. Benefits are available for those who qualify by extending the length of time they are eligible.

To receive Alabama unemployment benefits, you must be able to show you are unemployed through no fault of your own. If you quit or got fired, chances are you may not qualify for the unemployment compensation

If you need to file a claim for Alabama unemployment, you go online to www.dir.alabama.gov/uc/ICCS and file a claim from your computer. You can also file by calling the Initial Claims Line toll free at 1-866-234-5382 from your touch-tone phone. To file your claim for Alabama unemployment benefits, you will need to provide your name, social security number, your current address, and dates of employment of you most recent employer.

After you file for unemployment, as long as there aren’t any problems with your claim, you will start receiving payments on a weekly payment. You need to certify for benefits on a weekly basis in order to continue receiving payments. You can file weekly either online or by calling the weekly certification number. Usually as long as you certify before 5:00 PM, your payment is made on the next business day. You need to allow 48 hours for the payment to be processed by your bank.

Your weekly benefits may be anywhere from $45.00 to $255.00, depending on how much money you earned during your base period. You will receive a form after you file that tells how much in monetary benefits you will receive every week.