What You Need to Know About Unemployment Benefits

By CANDICE CHOI AP Personal Finance Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- The numbers are alarming — Citigroup (Stock Quote: C) alone plans to lay off 53,000 people.

With the seemingly endless stream of news about job cuts in recent weeks, you may be wondering about your own job security. How would you get by if you were suddenly out of work?

For the uninitiated, filing for unemployment may conjure images of standing in long lines to fill out forms, but that's not the case.

Eligibility and compensation vary by state, but a few general guidelines apply across the board. Most states, for instance, now require people to apply for benefits online or by phone.

That may make filing easier for the freshly out-of-work. More than 1.2 million jobs have been lost this year. Last month, the unemployment rate jumped to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent and 10.1 million people are now looking for work.

Next year isn't looking any better, with the rate expected to climb to 8 percent or higher.

Here are some questions and answers about how to make the most of your unemployment benefits.

Q: Am I eligible?
A: Most employees who lost their jobs through no fault of their own are eligible. If you were fired for misconduct or quit, don't bother applying.
In certain circumstances, resigning isn't a deal breaker. One example is if you left your job because your spouse was relocated.
"It depends on the case, but it has to be for a compelling reason," said Rick Marino, director of unemployment insurance in New York state.
You may be eligible even if you take a company buyout, so long as there was a likelihood you would've been laid off otherwise, Marino said.
Each state also has its own eligibility criteria based on how long you worked and how much money you earned before being laid off. Generally, anyone who worked full-time for a year will likely qualify — and sometimes the minimum is shorter than that.