Apply for unemployment insurance

What you need before you apply

Last employer information

The last employer is the last company you worked for. Or, if your employer reduced your hours, you could still work there part-time.

• Name of the company as it appears on your paycheck or W-2 form
• The name could be a payroll agency or staffing agency
• Complete mailing address
• Company’s phone number
• Supervisor’s name
• Total wages for the last week you worked
• The reason your employer reduced your hours or that you’re no longer working there

Employment history

• All of your employers from the last 18 months, including your last employer
• List them as they appear on your paycheck or W-2 form
• Your start and end dates
• Total wages earned
• How often you were paid (hourly, weekly, monthly)
• Hours worked per week

Your information

• Social Security Number
• Driver’s license or ID card number
• Citizenship status
• Company’s phone number
• Mailing address
• Telephone number
• Name, including names you no longer use (such as your married or maiden names)

Other information

• If you don’t have U.S. citizenship, information from your employment authorization document
• If you are a former federal employee, your Notice to Federal Employees About Unemployment Insurance, Standard Form 8
• If you served in the military in the last 18 months, your DD Form 214