States

How To Apply For Unemployment In Georgia

The Georgia Department of Labor provides a comprehensive claimant handbook to unemployed workers seeking to file an unemployment insurance benefits claim. In order to qualify for benefits, you must be completely separated from your job, or experienced a cut in hours or wages, and can provide a work history of legal employment in the state of Georgia. The links below will be helpful if you have additional questions:

• About Georgia Unemployment Insurance Benefits
• Online UI Claims Submission Center
• Unemployment Forms and Publications

Unemployment insurance beneficiaries are not charged a fee for unemployment assistance. It is paid for by employers. The maximum eligibility range for payments is between fourteen and twenty weeks, based on the current Georgia state unemployment rate.

How to File an Unemployment Insurance Benefits Claim

You can file for unemployment insurance benefits online using the link above or you can call 404-232-3180 to file by phone. Have your social security number, current address, and employment history for the past fifteen months available to you when you file. If you have your most recent W2 or 1099, copy down your employer’s FEIN number.

Unemployment Insurance was put in place to assist workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. If you voluntarily quit your position, or were fired for behavioral or criminal reasons, you’re likely not eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. If you’re denied benefits on either basis, or you feel a termination was unfair or a self-termination justified, you can appeal to the Georgia Department of Labor and request a hearing.  

Calculating Your Weekly Payout Amount

The amount of your weekly unemployment insurance benefit payment will be calculated based on your taxable income for the first four of the last five quarters you were employed. You must have worked in at least two of those quarters and your total income must have been at least $1,134 in the two highest quarters. The total earned in those two highest quarters will be added together and divided by 42 to determine what your payout will be.

The minimum weekly benefit you’ll receive is $55 per week and the maximum is $365 per week. The number of weeks you receive payments will be based on the current unemployment rate (minimum of fourteen weeks). You can receive payments via direct deposit to your bank account or on a Way2Go Debit Mastercard provided by the Georgia DOL.

Weekly Benefits Claims and Work Search

You can claim your weekly benefits online of by phone. The online option is available at dol.georgia.gov under Online Services >> Claim Weekly UI Benefits. You’ll need your social security number and pin for an online weekly claim. If you do not yet have a pin when you submit your first weekly claim, you’ll be asked to set one up.

Work Search is a requirement for you to continue receiving weekly benefits. You’ll be asked to submit three (3) verifiable job search contacts each week you’re collecting. These contacts must be legal employers with valid phone numbers and FEIN numbers. “Under the table” and cash-only jobs are not acceptable as valid work search opportunities.