File for unemployment pennsylvania

Learn more. If you have lost your job through no fault of your own, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. This guide will help you navigate the process of applying for unemployment compensation and connect you with additional resources available as part of the federal and state response to the COVID pandemic. In this guide. As a result of the COVID pandemic, a historic surge of people are seeking unemployment compensation.

We understand this is frustrating and hear your complaints. Please know we are working as diligently as we can to process requests. New federal laws made big changes to increase payments for many people and made other workers eligible for unemployment benefits for the first time. Before the pandemic, Pennsylvania had low unemployment with a near-record number of people working and the UC office was appropriately staffed for those conditions.

Other resources are still available to those who may need them. We cannot say for certain if you are eligible, ineligible, or what your repayment may be until you file an initial application. Your eligibility will ultimately be based on the information provided by you and your employer s.

Unemployment benefits are calculated as a percentage of your average pay over a recent week period. If you are eligible for benefits, you should receive your first benefit payment within four weeks after the effective date of your application, provided you file your weekly certifications on time. This email will include the date you will need to file your continued claim — also called your weekly certification. No matter what day of the week you submit your initial claim, it will be effective on Sunday.

Your initial claim will remain active for one year and between 18 and 26 full weeks of benefit payments will be available if you are eligible for benefits see the calculation of weekly benefit rate explanation.

You will file weekly certifying your eligibility for each week separately. For UC purposes, a week is a calendar week that begins Sunday and ends Saturday. It can take several weeks to receive the approval of your first weekly certification if there is a UC eligibility issue with your employment.

You should continue to file weekly certifications during this time. If you file on:. Note: Payments may be delayed if there is an eligibility issue that must be resolved before payment can be made. Keep this letter in a safe place. It states your financial eligibility. Financial determination letters are typically received within 3 business days via your UC Dashboard communication preference. If there is an issue with your claim, you will be asked to contact our team by the system.

Please do so via your UC dashboard. For specific questions about your claim, provide your full name as it appears on your aclaim, including any suffix used and the last four digits of your Social Security Number and submit via email at uchelp pa. Home address and mailing address if different. Telephone number. Valid email. Personal Identification Number optional. Learn more in the "My employer offered me my job back, but I would make more staying on Unemployment.

Can I do this? File a UC Weekly Claim. Quick Tips on Filing Weekly Claims. To be unemployed, you must have a loss in both work hours and pay or "earnings. You must report your earnings. You worked; if you worked your normal full-time hours or will be paid the equivalent of your normal full-time hours, you are not entitled to benefits for the week. Did you work your normal full-time hours, or will you be paid wages equal to your normal full-time wages?

If you could work from home if requested, you are Available. You are Able to work if you are mentally and physically capable of performing a job for which a labor market exists. The best way to file your biweekly claim is online from 6 a.

Sunday, and 6 a. Monday through Friday. Call TTY services for the deaf and hard of hearing: , from 6 a. For the duration of the pandemic emergency declaration, the waiting week requirement was temporarily suspended for all UC claimants and that week became a paid compensable week. As of September 5, , the unpaid waiting week is reinstated. Your earnings and eligibility during each week determine whether you are entitled to benefits for that week and any amount of benefits payable to you. Earnings can be anything you receive for work you do, including:.

You must also report any hours of work you missed when work was available to you and provide the gross wages you could have earned for the hours absent. You may be disqualified for benefits or prosecuted under the Pennsylvania UC Law if you fail to report all work and earnings, and any hours of work that you missed. You are paid the difference, but you cannot be paid more than your weekly benefit rate for any week. Check out our Partial Benefit Credit Calculator to estimate your payment for the week.

For example, you may be on vacation and not available one week, but available the next week. If you are eligible for benefits, you should receive your first benefit payment within four weeks after the effective date of your application, provided you file your biweekly claims on time.

You may be trying to access this site from a secured browser on the server. Please enable scripts and reload this page. An Official Pennsylvania Government Website. Office of Unemployment Compensation. Benefit Appeals. File an Initial Claim. File a Weekly Claim.

New UC System. Report Fraud. Contact Us. Page Content. What you need before you get started Personal Information: SSN Home address and mailing address if different Telephone number Valid email Keystone ID and Password, if available Direct deposit bank information optional - bank name, address, account and routing number.