First and foremost, apply as soon as you lose the job. State unemployment offices generally take 1-3 weeks to process your application, especially for the initial claim. The compensation will be paid from the week you applied and if you delay, you will lose the benefits prior to the week of filing. You won't be allowed to back-date your claims or claim the benefits for prior weeks.
Michigan Unemployment Compensation Eligibility Requirements
There are some basic rules for eligibility. Even if you meet some of these rules partially, you should still apply for unemployment because state offices make a reasonable attempt to process your claim, as long as you provide a good justification.
- You must have lost your job through no fault of your own. That means if you have quit job voluntarily you may not qualify for unemployment insurance. However, there are exceptions - such as working in hazardous or inhuman working conditions etc. to this rule.
- You must be willing and able to work. If you are physically disabled, you do not qualify.
- If you have received severance package when you lost job, you do not qualify.
- You must have earned minimum wage credits. Michigan State minimum weeks of covered employment requirement (employer must have paid unemployment taxes on your behalf): 24
- Minimum wages earned during the base period: $4306. This amount may change every year. You can get get complete eligibility criteria and the benefits calculator from state website mentioned in the next section.
Prepare documents required to apply for unemployment in MI
- Your name, address, social security number and other personal details such as telephone number, email address etc.
- Dependents name, date of birth and their social security number.
- Details of your previous employer. For each employer, you need to provide
- Name and address
- Telephone number
- Start and end dates of employment
- If you had out-of-state employment in the past 18 months, you also need to provide the employment details.
- Reason you lost the job – it has to be involuntary to be eligible to receive benefits.
- Your job skills summary
- If you are not an US citizen, keep your alien registration number and work authorization. However if you are on a work visa such as H1-B, immigration experts do not advise claiming unemployment insurance.
Apply for Benefits or Claim Extension
You can submit your application for unemployment compensation online, off-line (by mail or by visiting local employment office) or through telephone. Online application is the quickest and most efficient option which will also be available 24x7, 7 days a week.
Prepare and submit your application online here
If you choose to file over phone, call the unemployment compensation services toll-free number at 1-866-500-0017. You can call and file by using a touch-tone telephone from anywhere in the USA or Canada. For TTY callers, use 1-866-366-0004. The scheduled time for filing by phone is based on the last two digits of your Social Security number. For example, if your Social Security number ends in 50, you would phone in your application on Tuesday afternoon. Workers who are unable to call on their appointed day and time can dial the toll-free number anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern time on Thursday or Friday of the same week.
If you are applying for unemployment extension in Michigan, make sure you check the latest rules. Many states are in the process of revising the rules to extend the benefits beyond the initial period. Also remember that IRS will tax your unemployment benefits pay.
All the major cities in Michigan including Detroit, Gaylord, Grand Rapids, Lansing, Livonia, Marquette, Pontiac, Saginaw, Warren, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor and Flint have an unemployment office location to process unemployment claims. You can visit the local office for consultation or to file for unemployment in person
Michigan Unemployment Rate (Trend)
The graph below shows the current and historical unemployment rate in the state
Receiving unemployment benefits while working: In some cases, you can accept part-time work while receiving unemployment benefits. However, your work must be less than full-time, and your benefits will be reduced according to how much you earn in the week for which you are claiming benefits. There are three basic principles that affect how much you can earn while receiving unemployment benefits: (1) if your earnings are equal to or less than your weekly benefit amount, then your benefits are reduced by 50¢ for every dollar you earn; (2) if your earnings exceed your weekly benefit amount but are less than 1½ times your benefit amount, then your total earnings are subtracted from 1½ times your weekly benefit amount; and (3) the combination of your weekly benefits and earnings cannot exceed 1½ times your weekly benefit amount. For further information you can inquire about the claim by calling 1-866-500-0017 and selecting Option 3.
Registering for Work: After the claim is filed, you must register for work by filing a resume application at the Michigan Works! Agency (MWA) service center. To locate the nearest MWA center, go to www.michiganworks.org. You can also file your resume online, but you must still report in person to an MWA center to have your registration for work verified. MWA then notifies UIA that you have registered for work.
MARVIN (Michigan's Automated Response Voice Interactive Network): In order to receive your benefits, you must report bi-weekly using MARVIN on the appointment date given to you when you filed your claim. MARVIN is the agency’s automated benefit payment system. You will use MARVIN to certify that you are eligible for payment by answering eligibility questions, such as if you are able, available and looking for work and whether or not you had earnings during the two-week period for which you are reporting.
Next steps
After you have submitted your application, you should actively look out for work because the benefits you receive will not be enough to cover your living expenses. The best thing to do is to take a look at your job skills and determine if you want to improve or learn new skills so that you can use this opportunity to revive your career. There are plenty of online opportunities to earn a living while working from home.
State Unemployment Guides
Texas Unemployment Benefits GuideNevada Unemployment Benefits Guide
Pennsylvania Unemployment Benefits Guide
Missouri Unemployment Benefits Guide
California Unemployment Benefits Guide
Wisconsin Unemployment Benefits Guide
Michigan Unemployment Benefits Guide
NJ Unemployment Benefits Guide
Florida Unemployment Benefits Guide
Oregon Unemployment Benefits Guide
NY Unemployment Benefits Guide
Ohio Unemployment Benefits Guide
Utah Unemployment Benefits
New Mexico Unemployment Benefits
Tennessee Unemployment Benefits
Massachusetts Unemployment Benefits
Arizona Unemployment Benefits Guide
NH Unemployment Benefits Guide
Washington Unemployment Benefits Guide
Maryland Unemployment Benefits Guide
Kansas Unemployment Benefits Guide
Georgia Unemployment Benefits Guide
Illinois Unemployment Benefits Guide
Colorado Unemployment Benefits Guide
North Carolina Unemployment Benefits Guide
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