New Jersey Unemployment Benefits 2026: $905 Max, How to File

The maximum weekly unemployment benefit in New Jersey is $905 for 2026, up from $875 in 2025, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL). Your weekly benefit rate is 60% of your average weekly wage in the base year, up to that maximum, under N.J.S.A. 43:21-3. Benefits last up to 26 weeks, and New Jersey has no waiting week.

The maximum changes every January 1. NJDOL has proposed raising it to $937 for 2027 in a September 8, 2026 notice in the New Jersey Register, but that figure is only a proposal until it is adopted. NJDOL does not publish a minimum weekly benefit, but the U.S. Department of Labor lists New Jersey's minimum as $186 a week (up to $213 with dependents) as of July 2026.

This page covers New Jersey's own rules. For how the federal-state system fits together, see our guide to unemployment benefits by state.

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer. Statute quotations come from NJDOL's published compilation of the unemployment compensation law dated December 2024.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers regular state unemployment insurance in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. Title 43, Chapter 21, administered by NJDOL's Division of Unemployment Insurance. It does not cover federal programs for federal civilian employees or ex-service members (UCFE/UCX), Disaster Unemployment Assistance, extended benefits, New Jersey's temporary disability or family leave programs, or claims against another state's program.

New Jersey unemployment benefits at a glance

Who is eligible for unemployment in New Jersey

You need enough covered wages in your base year, a qualifying reason for being out of work, and you must be able to work, available for work, and actively looking.

Base year. Your regular base year is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before the week you first file. For claims filed from October 1 through December 31, 2026, that is July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. If you do not qualify on the regular base year, NJDOL checks two alternates: Alternate Base Year 1 (the four most recently completed calendar quarters) and then Alternate Base Year 2 (the three most recently completed quarters plus weeks and wages in the filing quarter up to your last day of work).

Earnings test for 2026. NJDOL states: "To be eligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits in 2026, you must have earned at least $310 per week (a base week) during 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year period, or you must have earned at least $15,500 in total covered employment during the base year period." Both figures are tied by statute to the state minimum wage in effect the previous October 1, which was $15.49 an hour on October 1, 2025. For 2025 the figures were $303 and $15,200.

A second claim. To start a new benefit year right after an earlier one, you also need earnings of at least six times your previous weekly rate and four weeks of employment since the prior benefit year began.

Able and available. You must be able to work, available for work, and accept suitable work. NJDOL may direct you to report to a One-Stop Career Center or other office (43:21-4(a)). NJDOL says all appointments are mandatory and missing one may affect your benefits. After a scheduled phone interview time, you must stay available for 2 hours.

How much unemployment pays in New Jersey

NJDOL calculates your weekly benefit rate "at 60% of the average weekly wage you earned during the base year, up to that maximum." Your average weekly wage is your total base-year wages divided by the number of base weeks you worked (counting at most 52). The rate is rounded down to the next lower dollar.

The maximum is set by statute at 56 2/3% of the statewide average weekly wage two years earlier. The 2026 maximum of $905 reflects a 2024 statewide average weekly wage of $1,598.66, according to NJDOL.

Illustration (hypothetical figures). If you earned $52,000 over 52 base weeks, your average weekly wage is $1,000 and 60% of it is $600, so your weekly rate would be $600. If your average weekly wage were $1,600, 60% would be $960, which is above the cap, so your 2026 rate would be $905.

Dependency benefits. If your rate is below the maximum, it can rise by 7% for your first dependent and 4% each for the next two (up to three dependents, a 15% total), rounded down. Your rate plus dependency benefits can never exceed the maximum. With the $600 example, one dependent adds $42, for $642. A dependent can be:

• An unemployed spouse or civil union partner.
• An unemployed, unmarried child (including a stepchild or adopted child) under 19, or under 22 if a full-time student.
• An unmarried adult child with blindness or a disability that began before age 22.

You cannot claim a spouse who is employed during the week you file, and if both spouses claim, only one gets the dependency benefit. NJDOL says: "You need to apply for Dependency Benefits within 6 weeks of the date of claim or you will be ineligible to receive Dependency Benefits for the duration of the claim." The amount is then fixed for the benefit year.

To estimate your amount, use our New Jersey unemployment calculator. Only NJDOL's determination sets your actual rate.

How long unemployment lasts in New Jersey

NJDOL explains the total this way: "Maximum Benefit Amount = the number of weeks you worked in the base period (up to 26) * your weekly benefit rate." The statute caps benefits at 26 times your weekly rate in any benefit year, and NJDOL puts the 2026 maximum total at $23,530 ($905 times 26).

If you qualified with 20 or more base weeks, you get between 20 and 26 weeks. If you qualified through the $15,500 alternative with fewer than 20 base weeks, you could get fewer. With the $600 example and 26 base weeks, your maximum benefit amount would be $15,600. New Jersey's duration is not tied to the unemployment rate.

Your benefit year lasts 365 days from your claim date. Benefits stop at the one-year mark even if you have not used them all.

No waiting week

New Jersey eliminated the waiting week: the statute says it "shall not apply to benefit years commencing on or after January 1, 2002." There is still a processing gap, because a week can be certified only after it ends. NJDOL explains: "Your claim is dated the Sunday of the week in which you filed your initial claim. The first time you claim benefits will be on a Wednesday, 17 days after your date of claim."

Quitting and being fired

Quitting. Under N.J.S.A. 43:21-5(a), you are disqualified if you "left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to such work." The disqualification runs from the week you quit until you become reemployed, work eight weeks (federal employment counts), and earn at least 10 times your weekly benefit rate. The law protects people who leave in these situations:

• Domestic violence. You are not denied benefits for leaving work, or being discharged, because of circumstances resulting from being a victim of domestic violence (43:21-5(j)). Proof can include a restraining order, police or conviction record, medical documentation, or a certification or documentation from a domestic violence specialist, social worker, clergy member, shelter worker or similar professional.
• Another job. Leaving to accept other work that starts within 7 days and has hours or pay at least equal to the first job.
• Approved training. Leaving work that is not suitable to enter Trade Act-approved training.

Misconduct. If you are suspended or discharged for misconduct connected with the work, you are disqualified "for the week in which the individual has been suspended or discharged for misconduct connected with the work, and for the five weeks which immediately follow that week" (43:21-5(b)). Misconduct means conduct that is improper, intentional, connected with your work, within your control, and not a good-faith error of judgment. It must be either a deliberate refusal, without good cause, to follow the employer's lawful and reasonable rules that were made known to you, or a deliberate disregard of standards of behavior the employer can reasonably expect.

The employer carries the burden of proof and must give NJDOL written documentation before the department finds misconduct.

Gross misconduct. A discharge for an act punishable as a crime of the first, second, third or fourth degree is gross misconduct. It brings the same long disqualification as a quit, and you lose benefit rights based on that employer's earlier wages. For the employment rules behind a firing, see New Jersey at-will employment laws.

Work search requirements

The statute requires that you be "actively seeking work" (43:21-4(c)(1)), and NJDOL may ask for your work search contacts "at any time during the life of your claim." NJDOL's own documents give different numbers for what counts as enough:

• NJDOL's Rights and Responsibilities booklet (PR-94, dated July 2026) says: "You must contact at least 1 different employer each week by phone, mail, Internet or in person; this is considered a reasonable effort."
• NJDOL's older work search log form (BC-514, revision marked R-2-14) says the department "considers a minimum of three (3) different employer contacts for each week a reasonable search for work."

Because the two documents conflict, ask NJDOL which standard applies to your claim, and keep records of every contact. Phone, internet and in-person contacts and sending resumes all count. If you are in approved full-time training, the work search requirement can be waived.

Working part-time while collecting

If you work reduced hours, you may receive a partial benefit. NJDOL says: "If you earn more than 20 percent of your weekly benefit rate from an employer in a given week, your partial weekly benefit payment will be reduced dollar-for-dollar for all gross wages earned that week." In practice, your partial weekly benefit rate is your weekly rate plus 20%, minus your gross earnings, and you are never paid more than your weekly rate.

For example, with a hypothetical $600 weekly rate, your partial rate is $720. If you earn $300 in a week, you would receive $420. If you earn $120 or less, you keep the full $600.

To get partial benefits, you cannot work more than 80% of the hours normally worked in the job. Report gross earnings and hours for the week you worked them, not the week you were paid.

How to file for unemployment in New Jersey

1. File as soon as you lose your job or your hours are cut, online at myunemployment.nj.gov. Your claim is dated the Sunday of the week you file.
2. To file by phone, call a Reemployment Call Center: North Jersey 201-601-4100, Central Jersey 732-761-2020, South Jersey 856-507-2340. For out-of-state claims, call 888-795-6672. NJ Relay is 7-1-1.
3. Verify your identity when NJDOL asks; identity verification is required.
4. Apply for dependency benefits within 6 weeks of your claim date if you have dependents.
5. Certify every week after the week ends. NJDOL says: "All claimants can certify for benefits anytime Sunday through Friday from 8am - 6pm." You can certify online with your Social Security number and 4-digit PIN. By phone, you certify every 2 weeks on an assigned weekday: Monday if your Social Security number ends in an odd number, Tuesday if it ends in an even number. Wednesday through Friday is only for catching up after a missed assigned day.

Your employer also owes your final wages on a set schedule; see New Jersey final paycheck laws.

Denials and appeals

NJDOL says: "A determination becomes final unless a written appeal is filed within 21 calendar days after the mailing of the determination to the claimant's last known address." If the last day falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day. (Employers have 10 calendar days from mailing, or 7 days from receipt.)

The appeal levels are:

1. Appeal Tribunal. An appeals examiner holds a hearing in person or by phone; you must register for the hearing. You can appeal online, by mail to PO Box 907, Trenton, NJ 08625, or by fax to 609-292-2438.
2. Board of Review. You can appeal in writing within 20 days of the mailing or notification of the Appeal Tribunal decision. The Board normally decides on the Appeal Tribunal record without a new hearing.
3. Appellate Division of the Superior Court. You can file a written appeal within 45 days of the mailing date of the Board of Review decision.

Keep certifying while you wait. NJDOL says: "While you are waiting for the appeal hearing, continue to certify for your weekly Unemployment Insurance benefits. This action gives you credit for these weeks pending the results of the hearing." Weeks you do not claim are not paid even if you win.

Overpayments

If you were paid benefits you were not entitled to, you must repay them in full. NJDOL can deduct from future benefits, set up a payment plan, intercept tax refunds or file a certificate of debt. You can appeal a repayment determination within 20 calendar days after confirmed receipt or 30 days after mailing, and recovery does not start until that period and any appeal end. Outside of fraud, you are not liable for a refund unless you were notified within four years of the payment.

NJDOL may waive an overpayment if you did not misrepresent or withhold a material fact and you have died, are disabled and can no longer work, the overpayment came from a Division or employer error, or recovery would be contrary to equity and good conscience. You request a waiver in your online account; a denial can be appealed within 21 days of the emailed determination.

A knowingly false statement or non-disclosure to get or increase benefits brings a fine of 25% of the amount fraudulently obtained, with each false statement a separate offense (43:21-16), plus a one-year disqualification from the date the Division discovers it (43:21-5(g)), repayment, interest and possible prosecution.

Is unemployment taxed in New Jersey?

No, according to NJDOL: "Although the state of New Jersey does not tax Unemployment Insurance benefits, they are subject to federal income taxes." You can choose 10% federal withholding, and NJDOL issues Form 1099-G. For federal tax rules, see our unemployment benefits by state hub.

Recent and upcoming changes

• 2026 figures. The maximum weekly benefit rose to $905 from $875, the base week to $310 from $303, and the alternative earnings amount to $15,500 from $15,200, effective January 1, 2026.
• Proposed 2027 figures (not yet adopted). NJDOL's proposal in the New Jersey Register (58 N.J.R. 1978(a), September 8, 2026) would raise the maximum to $937, the base week to $319 and the alternative earnings amount to $16,000 from January 1, 2027. Public comments are due November 7, 2026. Until NJDOL adopts the rule, the 2026 figures apply.
• Striking workers. For claims since January 1, 2022, striking workers can be eligible after a 14-day period without benefits, which does not apply during any part of that period when the employer uses a replacement worker.

Common myths

• "New Jersey has a waiting week." It has not had one for benefit years since 2002. The first certification simply comes 17 days after the claim date.
• "Everyone gets 26 weeks." You get one week per base week worked, up to 26, so someone with 20 base weeks gets 20 weeks.
• "The maximum is already $937." For 2026 it is $905; $937 is only proposed for 2027.
• "New Jersey taxes unemployment." NJDOL says the state does not; federal tax applies.
• "The law requires 3 job contacts a week." The statute says "actively seeking work." NJDOL's booklet says at least 1 different employer a week, while its log form calls 3 a reasonable search.
• "You can stop certifying during an appeal." NJDOL says to keep certifying; unclaimed weeks are not paid even if you win.

Disclaimer: This article is general legal information about New Jersey unemployment insurance, not legal advice or a benefit determination. Only the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development decides whether you are eligible and how much you receive. Information was verified on October 7, 2026, and figures change every January 1. If your claim was denied, consider talking to a lawyer licensed in New Jersey or a legal aid office.

Related

• Unemployment benefits by state
• New Jersey unemployment calculator
• New Jersey at-will employment laws
• New Jersey final paycheck laws

Last updated: October 7, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the maximum unemployment benefit in New Jersey?

$905 a week for 2026, according to NJDOL, up from $875 in 2025. NJDOL has proposed $937 for 2027, but that is not final until adopted.

How is unemployment calculated in New Jersey?

Your weekly benefit rate is 60% of your base-year average weekly wage (total base-year wages divided by base weeks), rounded down, up to the maximum (N.J.S.A. 43:21-3(c)).

What is the minimum unemployment benefit in New Jersey?

NJDOL does not publish a minimum weekly benefit. The U.S. Department of Labor lists New Jersey's minimum as $186 a week (up to $213 with dependents) as of July 2026. Your own amount is 60% of your base-year average weekly wage.

How long can you collect unemployment in New Jersey?

Up to 26 weeks. You get one week of benefits for each base week you worked, up to 26, within a 365-day benefit year; the 2026 maximum total is $23,530.

How much do I need to earn to qualify for unemployment in New Jersey?

For 2026, at least 20 base weeks with earnings of $310 or more each, or at least $15,500 in total covered earnings in your base year, per NJDOL.

Does New Jersey have a waiting week for unemployment?

No. The waiting week does not apply to benefit years starting on or after January 1, 2002. Your first certification is on a Wednesday, 17 days after your claim date.

How many job contacts do I need for unemployment in New Jersey?

NJDOL's documents conflict: its PR-94 booklet says at least 1 different employer a week, while its BC-514 log form calls 3 contacts a reasonable search. Ask NJDOL which applies and keep proof of every contact.

Can I get unemployment in New Jersey if I quit?

Only with good cause attributable to the work or a statutory exception, such as domestic violence or leaving for another job that starts within 7 days with equal or better hours or pay. Otherwise you must work 8 weeks and earn 10 times your weekly rate first.

How long is the disqualification for misconduct in New Jersey?

The week of the discharge plus the five weeks that follow (43:21-5(b)). Gross misconduct, an act punishable as a crime, brings the longer quit-style disqualification.

How long do I have to appeal an unemployment denial in New Jersey?

21 calendar days after the determination is mailed. Board of Review appeals are due within 20 days, and Appellate Division appeals within 45 days of the Board's decision.

How much can I earn while on unemployment in New Jersey?

Earnings up to 20% of your weekly rate do not reduce your benefit; above that, your payment drops dollar for dollar. You cannot work more than 80% of your normal hours and still collect.

Is unemployment taxable in New Jersey?

NJDOL says New Jersey does not tax unemployment benefits, but they are subject to federal income tax. You can choose 10% federal withholding.