<http://schema.org/articleBody>
" At 7.6 percent, America&amp;#039;s unemployment rate at the start of 2009 was the highest it&amp;#039;s been in years \u2014 leaving 11 million Americans without a job and 2 million more expected to lose theirs this year. Even if you&amp;#039;ve never lost a job, it&amp;#039;s comforting to know that if you do, the government provides you with unemployment benefits. So how do you collect? B.K. Simerson, coauthor of  Fired, Laid Off, Out of a Job, fills us in: 1. Who&amp;#039;s eligible: If you&amp;#039;ve worked for a full year over the last 15 months and you&amp;#039;re currently unemployed through no fault of your own, you qualify for unemployment benefits. 2. How to apply: &amp;quot;Contact your state&amp;#039;s department of unemployment online [find one near you at servicelocator.org], over the phone, or in person,&amp;quot; says Simerson. &amp;quot;And do it right away: Because of the recent high demand for benefits, it could take several weeks for your benefits to kick in.&amp;quot; To fill out the application, Simerson recommends having the following on hand: your work and salary history, the date you last worked, severance-pay details, a copy of your employer&amp;#039;s letter saying you were laid off, and documentation of any other income. You&amp;#039;ll have to reapply for benefits weekly or biweekly, documenting changes in your job situation and any interviews you&amp;#039;ve had. 3. How much you&amp;#039;ll get: &amp;quot;This depends on your state,&amp;quot; says Simerson. In New York, for example, you can collect up to $405 per week, whereas in Arizona, the most you can receive is $240. &amp;quot;The higher your former salary and the more dependents you have, the more you&amp;#039;ll receive,&amp;quot; says Simerson. &amp;quot;And the more you&amp;#039;re earning in severance pay or part-time work, the less you&amp;#039;ll collect.&amp;quot; 4. How long you&amp;#039;ll get it for: At this point, 46 weeks. Under normal circumstances, benefits last a maximum of 26 weeks, but because of the current recession, last year the federal government extended Emergency Unemployment Compensation for an additional 20 weeks. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/life/money-career/advice/a4885/unemployment-benefits/>