What You Need to Know About Unemployment Benefits in Massachusetts
This site provides clear, accurate information on collecting unemployment benefits in Massachusetts, including:
- whether you are eligible for benefits
- how to apply for unemployment benefits in Massachusetts
- how much you'll get (and how long your benefits will last)
- what you'll have to do to keep collecting benefits, and
- what to do if your application is denied.
Here are three key things to keep in mind as you get started:
1. You can apply for benefits -- and find helpful resources -- at the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance website.
Before you file for unemployment, you may want to learn more by reading our articles on benefit amounts, who qualifies for benefits, and so on.
Once you're ready to file, you can do it online.
Find detailed information and resources at the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance website, including:
- Massachusetts's online portal where you can file your claim for benefits
- the Request Weekly Unemployment Benefits page, where you can learn how to file your weekly claims for benefits in Massachusetts once your application is approved
- Frequently Asked Questions for Jobseekers, which explains the work search requirements you will have to meet in Massachusetts in order to keep receiving benefits
- Your Rights and Responsibilities as a Claimant, a detailed guide to collecting unemployment in Massachusetts, and
- information about how and when to file an appeal in Massachusetts if your application for benefits is denied.
2. Eligibility rules, benefit amounts, and duration differ from state to state.
Unemployment insurance works pretty much the same everywhere: Employers pay into a fund or purchase insurance, then former employees receive benefits when they lose their jobs. But the rules about who qualifies for unemployment, how long unemployment lasts, and especially how much you will receive in benefits vary a lot from state to state.
Our site covers every state and the District of Columbia; this page gives you information specific to Massachusetts.
In Massachusetts, the base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters immediately before you filed for benefits. For example, if you file for benefits on March 15, 2024, your base period will be from October 1, 2022 through September 30, 2023. It would not include the most recent complete calendar quarter before you filed (October 1, 2023 through December 31, 2023) or the first two-and-a-half months of 2024.
If you did not earn enough to qualify for benefits during the regular base period, you may be able to use an alternate base period that counts more recent earnings. In Massachusetts, the alternate base period is the last three complete calendar quarters before you file for unemployment, plus any portion of the quarter in which you file. For example, if you file for benefits on December 8, your alternate base period would be the first three calendar quarters of the year, plus October 1 through December 7 of the quarter in which you file for benefits.
Massachusetts allows filers to use an alternate base period even if they would be eligible for benefits using the regular base period, if they can show that their benefit would be at least 10% higher using the alternate base period.
- For more, see:
3. You may be eligible for benefits even if you quit, you were fired for cause, or you are still working part-time.
Some people mistakenly believe that unemployment is available only to employees who are laid off. However, you don't have to lose your job in a layoff to qualify for benefits. The key question is whether you are out of work without fault on your part. So, if you were forced to quit your job in lieu of being fired, or you were fired because you don't have the necessary skills for your job, you could still be eligible for benefits.