Massachusetts Unemployment Benefits: Who Qualifies, How Much, and How to Apply
Massachusetts unemployment: can you get benefits if fired or you quit, weekly benefit amounts, how many weeks, work search rules, how to apply and appeal.
Quick answers for Massachusetts
- If you were fired
- You are disqualified if you were fired for deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer's interest, or for a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy (unless the violation was the result of incompetence). Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 25(e) and (k)
- Weekly benefit amount
- Your weekly benefit is 50% of your average weekly wage in the base period, rounded down to the whole dollar, up to a maximum equal to 57.5% of the statewide average weekly wage. Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 29(a), (c)
- How many weeks
- Total benefits are the lesser of 36% of your base period wages or 30 times your weekly benefit rate (up to 30 weeks). Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 30
Last verified: 2026-10-27
Who qualifies
| If you were fired | You are disqualified if you were fired for deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer's interest, or for a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy (unless the violation was the result of incompetence). Being fired simply for poor performance you could not help does not disqualify you. Stealing from the workplace, illegal drug use at work or drunkenness at work disqualify you even without a written policy. The disqualification lasts until you have worked at least eight weeks and earned at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount. |
|---|---|
| If you quit | If you quit, you must show by substantial and credible evidence that you had good cause attributable to the employer, or that your reasons were so urgent, compelling and necessitous that leaving was involuntary. You are also not disqualified if you left in good faith for a new permanent full-time job and then lost that job for good cause attributable to the new employer, or if you left under a mandatory retirement program. Otherwise the disqualification lasts until you have worked at least eight weeks and earned at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount. |
| Layoffs and reduced hours | Workers in total or partial unemployment can claim benefits if they meet the wage requirements and are capable of, available for and actively seeking work. If your hours are cut, you can be paid partial benefits for weeks of partial unemployment. |
| Earnings needed to qualify | You must have been paid base period wages of at least 30 times your weekly benefit rate, and at least a minimum dollar amount that started at $2,000 in 1995 and rises each January with increases in the state minimum wage. The current dollar minimum for 2026 was not confirmed from an official agency page. |
| Self-employed, 1099 and gig workers | Under Massachusetts law, work done by an individual counts as employment for unemployment purposes unless it is shown that the worker (a) is free from control and direction in doing the work, (b) does the work outside the usual course of the business or outside all its places of business, and (c) is customarily engaged in an independent trade or business of the same kind. An employer's failure to withhold income taxes or pay workers' compensation premiums is not used in deciding this, and an employer that fails to treat a worker as an employee as required can be penalized. Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 2 |
How much and how long
| Weekly benefit amount | Your weekly benefit is 50% of your average weekly wage in the base period, rounded down to the whole dollar, up to a maximum equal to 57.5% of the statewide average weekly wage. The maximum is recalculated each year and applies to benefit years starting on or after the first Sunday in October. You also get $25 a week for each dependent child who qualifies. The dollar figures for the current maximum and minimum weekly benefit (benefit years starting October 2026) were not confirmed from an official agency page. |
|---|---|
| How many weeks | Total benefits are the lesser of 36% of your base period wages or 30 times your weekly benefit rate (up to 30 weeks). When average unemployment over the last 12 months is 5.1% or less in every one of the state's 10 metropolitan areas, new claims are limited to the lesser of 36% of base period wages or 26 times the weekly rate (up to 26 weeks). Dependency benefits are added. Up to 26 more weeks may be available while attending approved training. Which limit (26 or 30 weeks) currently applies was not confirmed from an official agency page. Source: Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 151A, § 30 |
| Waiting week | Yes. There is one unpaid waiting week of total or partial unemployment in each benefit year. |
| Working part-time on benefits | In a week of partial unemployment, earnings up to one-third of your weekly benefit rate are disregarded. You are paid the difference between your weekly benefit rate and your earnings above that amount, rounded down to the whole dollar. The disregarded earnings plus your benefit rate cannot equal or exceed your average weekly wage. |
| Severance and vacation pay | If you receive a retirement pension partly paid for by a base period employer, 50% of the pension is deducted from your weekly benefit. How severance and vacation pay affect benefits was not confirmed from an official source. |
Applying and keeping benefits
| Work search requirements | You must be capable of, available for and actively seeking work in your usual occupation or any other occupation you are reasonably fitted for, and you must register for work as the agency requires. The required number of work search activities per week was not confirmed from an official agency page. |
|---|---|
| Appealing a denial | Request a hearing within 10 days after the determination is mailed or delivered to you. A late request may be accepted for good cause, but never more than 30 days after the notice. |
Unemployment Benefits FAQ
Can you get unemployment if you were fired in Massachusetts?
You are disqualified if you were fired for deliberate misconduct in wilful disregard of the employer's interest, or for a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy (unless the violation was the result of incompetence). Being fired simply for poor performance you could not help does not disqualify you. Stealing from the workplace, illegal drug use at work or drunkenness at work disqualify you even without a written policy. The disqualification lasts until you have worked at least eight weeks and earned at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount.
Can you get unemployment if you quit in Massachusetts?
If you quit, you must show by substantial and credible evidence that you had good cause attributable to the employer, or that your reasons were so urgent, compelling and necessitous that leaving was involuntary. You are also not disqualified if you left in good faith for a new permanent full-time job and then lost that job for good cause attributable to the new employer, or if you left under a mandatory retirement program. Otherwise the disqualification lasts until you have worked at least eight weeks and earned at least 8 times your weekly benefit amount.
Can you get unemployment if your hours were cut in Massachusetts?
Workers in total or partial unemployment can claim benefits if they meet the wage requirements and are capable of, available for and actively seeking work. If your hours are cut, you can be paid partial benefits for weeks of partial unemployment.
How much do you need to have earned to get unemployment in Massachusetts?
You must have been paid base period wages of at least 30 times your weekly benefit rate, and at least a minimum dollar amount that started at $2,000 in 1995 and rises each January with increases in the state minimum wage.
How much is unemployment in Massachusetts?
Your weekly benefit is 50% of your average weekly wage in the base period, rounded down to the whole dollar, up to a maximum equal to 57.5% of the statewide average weekly wage. The maximum is recalculated each year and applies to benefit years starting on or after the first Sunday in October. You also get $25 a week for each dependent child who qualifies.
How long can you get unemployment in Massachusetts?
Total benefits are the lesser of 36% of your base period wages or 30 times your weekly benefit rate (up to 30 weeks). When average unemployment over the last 12 months is 5.1% or less in every one of the state's 10 metropolitan areas, new claims are limited to the lesser of 36% of base period wages or 26 times the weekly rate (up to 26 weeks). Dependency benefits are added. Up to 26 more weeks may be available while attending approved training.
Is there a waiting week for unemployment in Massachusetts?
Yes. There is one unpaid waiting week of total or partial unemployment in each benefit year.
What are the work search requirements for unemployment in Massachusetts?
You must be capable of, available for and actively seeking work in your usual occupation or any other occupation you are reasonably fitted for, and you must register for work as the agency requires.
Does severance pay affect unemployment in Massachusetts?
If you receive a retirement pension partly paid for by a base period employer, 50% of the pension is deducted from your weekly benefit.
How do I appeal an unemployment denial in Massachusetts?
Request a hearing within 10 days after the determination is mailed or delivered to you. A late request may be accepted for good cause, but never more than 30 days after the notice.
Can you work part-time and collect unemployment in Massachusetts?
In a week of partial unemployment, earnings up to one-third of your weekly benefit rate are disregarded. You are paid the difference between your weekly benefit rate and your earnings above that amount, rounded down to the whole dollar. The disregarded earnings plus your benefit rate cannot equal or exceed your average weekly wage.
Can self-employed or gig workers get unemployment in Massachusetts?
Under Massachusetts law, work done by an individual counts as employment for unemployment purposes unless it is shown that the worker (a) is free from control and direction in doing the work, (b) does the work outside the usual course of the business or outside all its places of business, and (c) is customarily engaged in an independent trade or business of the same kind. An employer's failure to withhold income taxes or pay workers' compensation premiums is not used in deciding this, and an employer that fails to treat a worker as an employee as required can be penalized.
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General legal information, not legal advice. Laws change and local rules can differ; check the linked official source or talk to a lawyer about your situation.