Unemployment Insurance (Kentucky)

If you lost your job through no fault of your own, file your Kentucky unemployment claim online through the Kentucky Career Center, or by phone at 502-564-2900. The website is open Monday through Friday and Sunday; phone filing runs weekdays. The old maximum people quote is stale: effective July 5, 2026, the weekly benefit is 1.1923 percent of your base-period wages, from a minimum of $39 to a maximum of $746, up from $665.

Duration moves with the economy. Since July 2023 the number of benefit weeks is tied to the state's average unemployment rate, ranging from 16 up to 24 weeks, and it updates twice a year on January 1 and July 1. Check the current Duration of Benefits chart, and budget for the lower end until you know.

You need enough recent work to qualify. That means at least $1,500 in wages in one base-period quarter, at least $1,500 across the other three quarters combined, and total wages of at least one and a half times your highest quarter.

Have your details ready before you file: your Social Security or Alien Registration number, date of birth, address and phone, and for every employer over the last 18 months the business name, address, phone, dates, and reason you left. Some workers need extra documents: SF8 or SF50 for federal work, a DD214 Member 4 for military, or a union contractor name.

The routine after filing is different from most states: you request benefits every two weeks, online or by the voice response unit at 502-564-2900. Phone requests are limited to claimants exempt from work-search rules, like those with a recall date within 12 weeks or in approved training. Miss a request and payment stops.

One safety warning: beware of fake unemployment sites that steal information or charge fees. Only file on a .ky.gov website; the Career Center's services are free and it only emails from @ky.gov addresses. And stack support while you look, SNAP, Medicaid, and 2-1-1 all help between jobs.