Learn About Requirements for Unemployment Benefits in Ohio

Find Ohio Unemployment Requirements Information

To discover who qualifies for unemployment in Ohio, you must first get familiar with the eligibility requirements for this type of financial assistance. Eligibility for EDD is set by the OH Department of Job and Family Services, and all unemployed residents must meet the qualifications in order to get benefits. The main factor regarding eligibility for unemployment insurance is the reason for separation from your employer. Namely, you must have been laid off from your job for objective business reasons, such as a company shut-down or project termination. Thus, you will not meet unemployment insurance eligibility requirements if you were fired as a result of misconduct or failure to perform your job duties properly. You are also not a resident who qualifies for unemployment benefits if you quit your job voluntarily without providing an acceptable reason. If you do meet the qualifications for unemployment compensation, you must maintain your eligibility on a weekly basis and report your job-seeking activities to the state. You must also participate in reemployment programs, if required.

If you would like to learn how to qualify for unemployment in Ohio, read the sections below:

Who qualifies for unemployment benefits in Ohio?
What are the requirements to get unemployment benefits and maintain them in Ohio?

Find Ohio Unemployment Resources

How to Apply

Understanding Requirements

How to Claim Benefits

How Extensions Work

Find Out How to Appeal Denied Benefits

Who Qualifies for Unemployment Benefits in Ohio?

Residents must meet unemployment insurance eligibility in Ohio in order to receive the benefits of the insurance compensation. If you are an OH resident who is without work and looking to apply for unemployment compensation, you must have been laid off by your company through no fault of your own. Acceptable layoffs include if the company you work for is closing, if your project is ending or if there is not enough work for you at this point in time.

Besides the reason for unemployment, another important criterion that determines who qualifies for unemployment benefits is the amount of wages you earned during your base period. In OH, a worker eligible for benefits must have worked at least 20 weeks in covered (insured) employment during the base period, and each such week is called a qualifying week. During the base period, your average weekly wage in 2016 must have been at least $243. The average weekly wage is calculated by dividing the total sum of wages you have earned in the qualifying weeks in your base period by the total number of qualifying weeks. Thus, if the total amount of your wages was $30,000 and you had 29 qualifying weeks in the base period, your average weekly wage would be $1,034. Note that the required average wage amount changes every year and is applicable to the year in which you apply for Ohio unemployment insurance, not the year in which you worked.

What are the Requirements to Get Unemployment Benefits and Maintain them in Ohio?

Now that you have learned how to qualify for unemployment benefits, you must continue to meet eligibility standards in order to keep receiving assistance. Besides meeting the main qualifications for unemployment in Ohio, you must also meet the following set of requirements:

Be mentally and physically able to work.
Actively look for work on a daily and weekly basis (you must apply for at least two jobs each week).
Accept suitable work and be able to start immediately.
Report your job-seeking activities and results to the Department of Job and Family Services.
Register with the OhioMeansJobs system (a state-established job-seeking system).
Participate in reemployment programs set by the department.
Report all types of income you receive during your unemployment benefit claim period (this includes earnings made from self-employment, odd jobs, part-time work and more, and the amount must not be higher than the amount of benefits you receive).
Report any vacation pay, severance pay, worker’s compensation, pensions or company buyout payments.

Failure to complete any of these activities can result in the termination of your benefits. The main goal of this type of financial assistance is to help you get by until you find a new job. Therefore, it is important to not just rely on your benefits as a sole source of income. Recipients are not simply required to seek work in order to stay on the program. They must do so to once again earn a full wage and become financially independent.