Unemployment Benefits after a temp job?

Unemployment Benefits & Temp Job

• Answer:

  When a person has been unable to find permanent employment for a long period, he might consider a temporary employment arrangement. Until 2010, that course of action could have meant jeopardizing the level of annual payments a person receives as part of government unemployment insurance. This issue was solved in 2010 as part of an unemployment extension signed into law by President Obama. Base Pay Benefit amounts vary from state to state, but on a national basis, the average unemployment benefits are about 35 percent of a worker's previous wage, according to MSN Money. Temporary work often involves taking a salary that is lower than that paid for full-time work. Federal regulations require states to reexamine every claimant's case every 52 weeks. Prior to the legal modifications made in 2010, this often meant a worker's base pay was reset to the lower amount they made doing temporary work. Thresholds The law signed by President Obama establishes certain thresholds below which a person's unemployment benefits may not be reduced. If through a temporary job your unemployment benefits would stand to be reduced by either 25 percent or more than $100, you will be kept at your old base pay rate. This is based on a federal mandate that is implemented at the state level, with varying state rates applying. Benefits of Working By staying in the labor force through temporary work a person makes himself more appealing to potential employers for permanent positions. Employers typically prefer workers who have taken more individual initiative in finding work and staying employed. Employers may worry that a person who has stayed unemployed for a long period may have experienced an erosion of his skills. Incentives Unemployment insurance has the potential of becoming a burden to the greater economy if it discourages individuals from seeking gainful work. Prior to the legislative modification, workers were discouraged from seeking temporary work for fear of losing some of their unemployment benefits. One of the justifications for unemployment insurance is that it acts as a counter-cyclical force, putting money back in the economy during a period of retraction. Unemployment benefits are only meant to be temporary.