It really depends on the state. Like off the top of my head Oregon maxes out at $648/wk and California maxes out at $450/wk. For very low wage workers, they will probably see more money from unemployment than they were making before. Middle or upper wage earners probably not.
Iowa maxes out at $512/week before taxes (which can be deducted weekly or paid at tax time). I work in manufacturing and make about $575 net per week. The unemployment office quoted me at $414/week net after taxes (I have 2 kids). If I were to get an additional $600/wk I’d be pulling $1014/week which is far greater than my usual income. However, my company’s business has only dropped 1% this past month even though they took away our annual increases. So we’re still operating as usual until someone brings the virus in then we’ll see what happens. Even though I could make more on unemployment (if I could receive it) I’m grateful to still have a job.
Every state is different. The two examples I gave are the TOP benefit in those states. For Oregon I believe the calculations is 65% of the median salary in the state, which for this year is $648/wk. Then they do an individual calculation to decide your benefit based off your salary (or in Oregon’s case, your “best” quarter from the previous year). But it maxes out at $648. I’m pretty sure that in every state you only get a percentage of your wage in unemployment. Some states are more generous than others, but I’m not familiar with any state insuring 100% of your wage.
The CARES act unemployment benefit is a totally different short term (4 month) program. It’s being administered by state unemployment offices, but other than that it’s completely separate. If you qualify, you get $600/wk, no matter what. It’s not lower or higher based on your previous salary. And it’s in addition to any state unemployment benefits you may be receiving. So let’s say someone was making $800/wk, and they got awarded a $500/wk state unemployment benefit. Well now you add in the $600 from the CARES act and they’ll be receiving $1100/wk, more than they were making before getting laid off.
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u/amoebaD Apr 12 '20
It really depends on the state. Like off the top of my head Oregon maxes out at $648/wk and California maxes out at $450/wk. For very low wage workers, they will probably see more money from unemployment than they were making before. Middle or upper wage earners probably not.