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To learn more about available extensions of or additions to unemployment benefits, see the information below.
Those who meet the requirements for traditional unemployment insurance may receive benefits for up to 26 weeks during a one-year period.
The federal benefits created during the pandemic, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) ended September 4, 2021. Any funds that appear as remaining in your unemployment account related to these federal programs will not be available for certification or payment for weeks of unemployment ending after September 4, 2021.
Federal legislation expanded unemployment benefits. This included Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments, which provides an additional $300 to weekly unemployment benefits to unemployed workers. These benefits expired September 4, 2021. If you are still receiving unemployment benefits after September 4, 2021, your benefit payment will no longer include the FPUC payment.
Additionally, federal law requires a review for new wages after one year, once a claim reaches “benefit year end”. Before September 4, 2021, when claimants on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) reached benefit year end and qualified for a new claim, NJDOL determined their new benefit rate based on the previous year’s earnings. If the benefit rate was at least $25 less than the original (first year’s) claim, NJDOL paid claimants the higher rate. After September 4, 2021, because PEUC expired, NJDOL returned such claims to the original, lower weekly benefit rate.
State extended unemployment benefits (EB) are additional weeks of benefits available to some unemployment insurance benefit recipients. The state’s ability to give these additional weeks is based on NJ’s unemployment rate. On April 17, 2021, NJ’s unemployment rate triggered the availability of up to 13 weeks of EB. Per federal law, this program ended on April 9, 2022, due to the state’s declining unemployment rate.
There are several criteria you must meet to be eligible for state extended unemployment benefits (EB). They are different from the requirements for regular unemployment benefits and federal extended unemployment benefits.
Type of Unemployment Claim: Claimants must be receiving regular/traditional unemployment benefits or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) to receive EB. Claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) are not eligible for EB. To learn the type of unemployment benefits you are receiving, check your claim status.
Date of Claim: Claims must be dated May 12, 2019 or later. Claims dated before May 12, 2019 are not eligible for EB. Your date of claim is listed on your claim status.
Residency: Claimants living and working in NJ have met this requirement. For claimants who work in NJ but live in another state, there are two options:
(For information on New York’s EB status, visit here. For information on Pennsylvania's EB status, visit here.)
Monetary Requirement: To be eligible for EB through April 9, 2022, you must have either earned:
Have not already received EB: Some claimants may have already received EB on their claim between exhausting their regular unemployment benefits and before receiving PEUC. You may only receive EB once per claim.
Please note: Claimants who were disqualified for misconduct or refused suitable work will have to meet additional requirements to be eligible for EB. You would have received notification through postal mail from the Department if you were disqualified.
The CARES Act that was signed March 27, 2020 provided unemployment assistance to many NJ workers impacted by COVID-19. The Continued Assistance Act, signed December 27, 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act signed March 11, 2021 extended this assistance. Pandemic-related federal unemployment benefits expired September 4, 2021.
Under these laws, there were three types of assistance:
Please note that you will still be able to receive benefits for weeks prior to September 4, if you are found eligible for a claim filed before September 4, 2021.
The Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) program, available from the U.S. Department of Labor, provides an additional payment of $100 per week to eligible claimants for each week they received an unemployment or PEUC payment between the weeks-ending January 2, 2021 and September 4, 2021.
“Mixed earners” are those workers whose income comes from both W2 wages and self-employment earnings.
To be considered eligible, you must:
If you are eligible, here's how to qualify for this supplemental payment:
Any payments will be issued weekly within 1 to 2 weeks after you are determined eligible. You do not need to contact us to request payment.
*Net income from self-employment is the gross income from a trade or business, minus allowable deductions for that trade or business. Allowable deductions are any deductions that are permitted by the Internal Revenue Service, including depreciation. Net income from self-employment also includes any profit or loss in a partnership.
Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation
The American Rescue Plan Act, signed March 11, 2021, extended the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, which provides an additional $300 to workers for weeks of unemployment ending on March 11, 2021 through September 4, 2021.
The CARES Act, signed March 27, 2020, created FPUC, which provides an additional $600 to workers for weeks ending on April 4, 2020 through July 25, 2020.
NJDOL distributed the payments weekly to those currently claiming regular unemployment benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits.
Lost Wages Assistance Payments
Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), also referred to as “FEMA payments,” was a limited-time federal program that paid a $300 weekly supplemental benefit to most workers unemployed for a COVID-19 related reason during the weeks ending August 1, 2020 through September 5, 2020. The maximum benefit was for six weeks, for a total of $1,800. Lost wages supplemental payments ended on December 27, 2020.
The LWA payments were for claimants who certified that they: