New Hampshire Unemployment Benefits: Who Qualifies, How Much, and How to Apply
New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire
- If you were fired
- If you were discharged for misconduct connected with your work, you are disqualified until you have earned, in each of 5 weeks, wages at least 20% more than your weekly benefit amount in covered employment after the discharge. RSA 282-A:32, I(b)
- Weekly benefit amount
- Your weekly benefit amount comes from a statutory table based on your total base period earnings. It ranges from $32 (earnings of at least $2,800) to a maximum of $427 per week (earnings of $41,500 or more). RSA 282-A:25, I
- How many weeks
- Up to 26 weeks. The statutory table sets your maximum total benefits at 26 times your weekly benefit amount (for example, $11,102 at the $427 maximum). RSA 282-A:25, I
Last verified: 2026-10-27
Who qualifies
| If you were fired | If you were discharged for misconduct connected with your work, you are disqualified until you have earned, in each of 5 weeks, wages at least 20% more than your weekly benefit amount in covered employment after the discharge. Source: RSA 282-A:32, I(b) |
|---|---|
| If you quit | If you left work voluntarily without good cause, you are disqualified until you have earned, in each of 5 weeks, wages at least 20% more than your weekly benefit amount. You are not disqualified if you: quit unsuitable work within 12 weeks; quit in good faith to accept better employment starting soon; reasonably believed leaving was necessary to protect yourself or your immediate family from domestic abuse; could not do your job because of pregnancy or a non-work illness or injury (with a physician's written notice); left to follow a spouse whose job moved too far to commute; or left because of the illness or disability of an immediate family member. Source: RSA 282-A:32, I(a) |
| Layoffs and reduced hours | You can get partial benefits in a week of less than full-time work if your wages are less than your weekly benefit amount. If you have a definite return-to-work date within 11 weeks of your last day of work, you are exempt from the work search requirement. If you expect to be recalled in 4 to 26 weeks, you must be available for and seek temporary work. |
| Earnings needed to qualify | The base period is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters; if you do not qualify, the last 4 completed quarters are used. You need base period earnings of at least $2,800, with at least $1,400 in each of 2 calendar quarters. Source: RSA 282-A:2; RSA 282-A:25, I |
| Self-employed, 1099 and gig workers | Services performed for wages count as employment for unemployment purposes unless it is shown to the Department of Employment Security that the worker (a) is free from control or direction, both under the contract and in fact, (b) works outside the usual course of the business or outside all its places of business, and (c) is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business. |
How much and how long
| Weekly benefit amount | Your weekly benefit amount comes from a statutory table based on your total base period earnings. It ranges from $32 (earnings of at least $2,800) to a maximum of $427 per week (earnings of $41,500 or more). The $427 maximum is set in the statutory table (last amended effective July 1, 2007) and is not adjusted annually. Source: RSA 282-A:25, I |
|---|---|
| How many weeks | Up to 26 weeks. The statutory table sets your maximum total benefits at 26 times your weekly benefit amount (for example, $11,102 at the $427 maximum). Source: RSA 282-A:25, I |
| Waiting week | Yes. For benefit years starting on or after January 3, 2010, you must serve a waiting period of one week of total or partial unemployment. The waiting week does not reduce your maximum benefit amount. Source: RSA 282-A:31, I(h), (i) |
| Working part-time on benefits | Your weekly benefit is reduced by all earnings above 30% of your weekly benefit amount. If you are seeking only part-time work, you count as partially unemployed only in weeks you work fewer than 20 hours. Source: RSA 282-A:14, I(b), III(a) |
| Severance and vacation pay | Pay in lieu of notice, separation allowances and payouts of accrued leave count as wages and reduce benefits for the weeks they apply to. Retention, stay and similar payments received within 90 days before unemployment are presumed to apply to those weeks. Payments for a permanent separation (not retirement) under a pre-existing employer-funded plan vested before separation do not count. A pension from a base period employer reduces your weekly benefit by the amount applying to that week, unless you contributed 50% or more of it. |
Applying and keeping benefits
| Work search requirements | You must register for employment with NHES and report as required, be ready, willing and able to accept suitable full-time or part-time work, actively seek work as a reasonably prudent person would given economic conditions, and take part in reemployment services when directed. If you have a definite return-to-work date within 11 weeks of your last day of work, you are exempt from the work search. The number of weekly work search contacts required was not confirmed from an official agency page. Source: RSA 282-A:31, I |
|---|---|
| Appealing a denial | Your appeal to an appeal tribunal must be received, or postmarked if mailed, within 14 calendar days after the determination was mailed. The commissioner may extend the deadline if there are sufficient grounds for the delay. Source: RSA 282-A:48 |
Unemployment Benefits FAQ
Can you get unemployment if you were fired in New Hampshire?
If you were discharged for misconduct connected with your work, you are disqualified until you have earned, in each of 5 weeks, wages at least 20% more than your weekly benefit amount in covered employment after the discharge.
Can you get unemployment if you quit in New Hampshire?
If you left work voluntarily without good cause, you are disqualified until you have earned, in each of 5 weeks, wages at least 20% more than your weekly benefit amount. You are not disqualified if you: quit unsuitable work within 12 weeks; quit in good faith to accept better employment starting soon; reasonably believed leaving was necessary to protect yourself or your immediate family from domestic abuse; could not do your job because of pregnancy or a non-work illness or injury (with a physician's written notice); left to follow a spouse whose job moved too far to commute; or left because of the illness or disability of an immediate family member.
Can you get unemployment if your hours were cut in New Hampshire?
You can get partial benefits in a week of less than full-time work if your wages are less than your weekly benefit amount. If you have a definite return-to-work date within 11 weeks of your last day of work, you are exempt from the work search requirement. If you expect to be recalled in 4 to 26 weeks, you must be available for and seek temporary work.
How much do you need to have earned to get unemployment in New Hampshire?
The base period is the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters; if you do not qualify, the last 4 completed quarters are used. You need base period earnings of at least $2,800, with at least $1,400 in each of 2 calendar quarters.
How much is unemployment in New Hampshire?
Your weekly benefit amount comes from a statutory table based on your total base period earnings. It ranges from $32 (earnings of at least $2,800) to a maximum of $427 per week (earnings of $41,500 or more).
How long can you get unemployment in New Hampshire?
Up to 26 weeks. The statutory table sets your maximum total benefits at 26 times your weekly benefit amount (for example, $11,102 at the $427 maximum).
Is there a waiting week for unemployment in New Hampshire?
Yes. For benefit years starting on or after January 3, 2010, you must serve a waiting period of one week of total or partial unemployment. The waiting week does not reduce your maximum benefit amount.
What are the work search requirements for unemployment in New Hampshire?
You must register for employment with NHES and report as required, be ready, willing and able to accept suitable full-time or part-time work, actively seek work as a reasonably prudent person would given economic conditions, and take part in reemployment services when directed. If you have a definite return-to-work date within 11 weeks of your last day of work, you are exempt from the work search.
Does severance pay affect unemployment in New Hampshire?
Pay in lieu of notice, separation allowances and payouts of accrued leave count as wages and reduce benefits for the weeks they apply to. Retention, stay and similar payments received within 90 days before unemployment are presumed to apply to those weeks. Payments for a permanent separation (not retirement) under a pre-existing employer-funded plan vested before separation do not count. A pension from a base period employer reduces your weekly benefit by the amount applying to that week, unless you contributed 50% or more of it.
How do I appeal an unemployment denial in New Hampshire?
Your appeal to an appeal tribunal must be received, or postmarked if mailed, within 14 calendar days after the determination was mailed. The commissioner may extend the deadline if there are sufficient grounds for the delay.
Can you work part-time and collect unemployment in New Hampshire?
Your weekly benefit is reduced by all earnings above 30% of your weekly benefit amount. If you are seeking only part-time work, you count as partially unemployed only in weeks you work fewer than 20 hours.
Can self-employed or gig workers get unemployment in New Hampshire?
Services performed for wages count as employment for unemployment purposes unless it is shown to the Department of Employment Security that the worker (a) is free from control or direction, both under the contract and in fact, (b) works outside the usual course of the business or outside all its places of business, and (c) is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business.
Unemployment Benefits in other states
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