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Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility Requirements

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To be eligible for unemployment benefits you must be unemployed and be:

  1. Available for work. You are willing to accept any full-time work that is suitable.
  2. Able to work. You are physically and mentally able to do full-time work that you have performed in the past or have been trained to do.
  3. Actively seeking suitable full-time work.
  4. Registered to work. Register for work at MiTalent.org and visit a Michigan Works! Agency (MWA) service center, unless instructed otherwise by UIA staff.

How much can I collect? How many weeks will I qualify for?

Once you have been determined eligible to receive unemployment benefits, you could qualify for the 2026 maximum weekly benefit rate of $530 (up from $446 in 2025) and between 14 and weeks 26 weeks of benefits. Not everyone receives the maximum weekly benefit rate or qualifies for the full 26 weeks; the amount an individual is approved to receive is based on their wage history. 

Note: If extensions are available, you'll be notified once you near the end of your benefit year or if you will soon exhaust your available weeks. Extensions for collecting UI payments are in effect only during periods of high unemployment and only if the state or federal government take specific action to provide extended benefits.

What’s underemployment?

If you are working less than full time during a week, you may be eligible for a reduced benefit amount. This is based on your gross earnings (pay prior to deductions) for the week. This is also known as underemployment. Note: You must always report gross earnings in the week work was performed. 

There are wage requirements to qualify for a claim.

To determine if you have enough wages to qualify for benefits, UIA first looks at what is called your Standard Base Period. If you do not meet the wage requirements based on your Standard Base Period, the UIA will consider your wages in the Alternate Base Period. 

If you don’t meet the wage requirement in either the Standard Base Period or the Alternate Base Period, you may still be able to qualify for benefits using the Alternate Earnings Qualifier (AEQ).

 

To determine if you have enough wages to qualify for benefits, UIA first looks at what is called your Standard Base Period. 

This period includes the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters in an 18-month time period prior to when you filed your claim.

The four calendar quarters in a year are January through March; April through June; July through September; and October through December.

  1. You must have at least one quarter in which you earned a minimum of $5,328.00.
  2. You must have wages in at least two calendar quarters in the Standard Base Period.
  3. Your total base period wages must equal 1.5 times your highest quarter wages.

Alternate Base Period

If you do not meet the wage requirements based on your Standard Base Period, the UIA will consider your wages in the Alternate Base Period. 

This is the four most recently completed calendar quarters in an 18-month time period prior to when you filed your claim.

How to calculate benefits using Standard Base Period:

  • There must be wages in at least two quarters in the Standard Base Period. 
  • For benefit years beginning Jan. 1, 2026, one quarter's wages must be at least $5,328.00; and total wages for all four quarters must equal at least 1.5 times the highest amount of wages paid in any quarter of the base period.
Example: $5,328 x 1.5 = $7,992.00

If you don’t meet the wage requirement in either the Standard Base Period or the Alternate Base Period, you may still be able to qualify for benefits using the Alternate Earnings Qualifier (AEQ).

This means:

  • You must have wages in at least two quarters.
  • Total wages for all four quarters must equal at least 20 times the State Average Weekly Wage (SAWW).

How to calculate benefits using the AEQ Method:

  • You must have wages in at least two quarters and total wages for all four quarters must equal at least 20 times the SAWW. 
  • For 2026, the SAWW is $1,333.88, so the AEQ amount is $26,677.60.
20 x $1,333.88 (SAWW) = $26,677.60 (AEQ)