Unemployment Insurance (Connecticut DOL)

If you lost your job through no fault of your own, you may get weekly unemployment payments from the Connecticut Department of Labor. The fastest way to file is online through ReEmployCT, the state's claimant system. If you need help, the Consumer Contact Center is at 1-800-956-3294, Monday through Friday, 7:30am to 4:30pm. You can also reach it at (203) 941-6868 or (860) 967-0493.

Benefits last a set time. Regular Connecticut unemployment is payable for a maximum of 26 weeks, and the most you can receive in total is your weekly benefit rate times 26.

Your weekly amount comes from your own work history, so it is different for everyone. Your weekly benefit rate is one twenty-sixth (1/26) of the average of your total wages in the two highest quarters of your base period. Construction workers use 1/26 of the wages in the single highest quarter. Your exact dollar amount is set for you and shown on your determination, so this guide does not quote a maximum figure.

To qualify, you need enough recent work. Your base-period wages must be at least 40 times your weekly benefit rate. You must also have lost the job through no fault of your own, and you must be able to work, available for work, and actively looking for work while you claim.

There is extra help if you support children. A dependency allowance adds $15 a week for each dependent child, up to a maximum of $75 for five children. The allowance can never make your total more than your weekly benefit rate.

The weekly routine keeps benefits coming. You must file a weekly claim and track and report your job-search activities each week. Because a job search takes time, stack support while you look. SNAP catches many households, HUSKY keeps the family covered, and 2-1-1 knows which local funds can bridge rent between jobs.