To determine what UI benefits you are eligible to receive, your state will typically review your prior wages and hours within a period of time known as a “base period”. In a regular base period, the first four calendar quarters of the last five you worked before your unemployment claim, determine your amount of compensation. Remember that a calendar year has 4 quarters. In other words, your eligibility is decided based on the first 12 out of the last 15 months you worked. Not all states calculate benefit amounts the same, but the most common methods are: a straight proportion of one's total wages during the base period, or a proportion of one's total wages during the highest three-month period ("quarter") in the base period. Each state has a minimum and maximum weekly benefit--ranging from $5 in Hawaii to $722 in Massachusetts. It is important to review the history of your earnings in order to ensure that your benefit rate is accurate. For information on your state, click on your state in the map below. Some states allow eligibility under an "alternate base period" (ABP), which includes more recent earnings than the regular base period. This is especially helpful for people who were not employed throughout the previous year and a half or who began earning more income at the end of their employment. As a result of the ABP, you may be found eligible when previously ineligible, or your benefit rate may increase significantly. Some states do not automatically evaluate eligibility under the ABP, so it is important to ask about it or to request evaluation under the ABP.