When it comes to unemployment, many people believe that there are only standard unemployment benefits that are available for them. People can also gain a lot from Unemployment Insurance (UI). But, there is another unemployment assistance option that people could use, which is the Self-Employment Assistance program. These benefits might be able to offer better support for your current situation.

Standard Unemployment Benefits: What They Are

Before we dive into what it means to gain from Self-Employment Assistance, you should know what standard unemployment benefits are. Unemployment Insurance (UI) is defined as the federal and state system that can provide assistance to people who lost their jobs. If a person loses their job, then Unemployment Insurance temporarily covers a part of their wages while they look for another job. The specific unemployment program will differ depending on the state. But, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for supervising the programs.

You might know it as the basic Unemployment Insurance program, but it can provide up to 26 weeks of financial support to people that lost their jobs. In most states, the program has the ability to replace approximately half of the unemployed individual’s previous wages on average. But, there are some federal eligibility requirements that states need to manage. Other than that, states are responsible for setting their own eligibility requirements, benefits, and so on.

Who is Eligible for Unemployment Insurance? 

It is important to remember that specific eligibility requirements will differ based on the state that operates the Unemployment Insurance program. However, people can expect to be eligible if they:

• Lost their employment when it was not their fault
• Have the ability to work and are actively searching for work
• Earned a minimum specific amount during a period of time or “base period” before losing their jobs

How Much Can You Receive from Unemployment Insurance?

As mentioned above, states are the ones responsible for deciding the number of benefits a person can get from these programs. You can expect to get benefits on a dollar amount for a particular number of weeks.

Understanding Self-Employment Assistance (SEA)

There are other unemployment assistance opportunities you should be aware of. Self-Employment Assistance is a support option that can offer dislocated workers the opportunity of early re-employment. This support option aims to motivate and enable people who are going through unemployment to establish their employment by starting a small business. But, this is a voluntary program– which means that there are only some states that provide this support option. The states that actively operate this program will pay a SEA allowance per week, rather than the standard Unemployment Insurance benefits. This allowance can be used towards helping people who are unemployed while they are working on self-employment and creating their own business.

States that are currently operating SEA programs are:

• Delaware
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Oregon

Who is Eligible for SEA?

To receive these benefits, an individual must be eligible for the standard Unemployment Insurance under their state law. If you do not qualify, then you will not be able to receive SEA benefits.

What are SEA Benefits?

The allowances that SEA will offer are similar to a person’s weekly standard Unemployment Insurance benefits. Rather than looking for employment that pays a wage, these individuals can concentrate on working on starting their business full-time. This includes taking part in activities like business counseling, technical assistance, entrepreneurial training, etc.

How Can You File a Claim?

If you lost your job, it is important to contact your State’s Unemployment Insurance agency as soon as possible. They will be able to help you with your application and give you any information you might need. When you contact this agency, you can also find out if your state is operating the SEA program.

Additional Information

If you still need more information about the SEA program, you can always check out the Self-Employment Assistance Center. The United States Department of Labor (DOL) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) created this resource to help people understand SEA more. For instance, the website tells you more about the SBA Toolkit. This toolkit has information that can be able to help individuals who are in the process of creating their own business. This information includes resources such as:

• Small Business Development Centers
• Women’s Business Centers
• SCORE
• SBA Free Online Courses

Other Unemployment Benefits to Think About

Other than basic Unemployment Insurance and Self-Employment Assistance (SEA), there are other specific unemployment support options to think about:

• Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees
• Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members
• Extended Unemployment Benefits
• Disaster Unemployment Assistance
• Trade Readjustment Unemployment Benefits

These opportunities may be able to better help your situation. For any questions you have you can reach out to your state’s unemployment agency!

Bottom Line

If you are currently in the process of handling unemployment, there might be more help than you think. Other than the basic Unemployment Insurance (UI) that most people know, there is also Self-Employment Assistance (SEA). This form of unemployment support is created to provide assistance for people who are dealing with unemployment to help them start their business to be self-employed. Keep in mind this is a voluntary assistance option which means it is not available in every state. The only states that provide this support are:

• Delaware
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• New York
• Oregon

Similar to basic UI, the eligibility requirements and benefits differ depending on the state. If you are interested in applying or learning more, contact your state’s Unemployment Insurance Agency. Other than checking out your state agency, you can get more information from the Self-Employment Assistance Center. This is an information resource that you can find online. It is a great way to provide information to people who need it.

Additionally, it is important to keep in mind that other than the standard Unemployment Insurance and Self-Employment Assistance, there are other unemployment support options that you can think about:

• Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees
• Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service Members
• Extended Unemployment Benefits
• Disaster Unemployment Assistance
• Trade Readjustment Unemployment Benefits

There are more unemployment support options than you realize. You just need to look for them and find the right one that best suits you.