Unemployment benefits in Alaska

Can I get benefits?

You must have been paid at least $2,500 in base-period wages, in at least two calendar quarters of the base period.

Law: AS 23.20.350(a)

If you quit

If you quit your last suitable work without good cause, you are disqualified.

If you were fired

If you were fired for misconduct connected with your last work, you are disqualified.

Law: AS 23.20.379

Quit, fired, refused work and the federal rules →

The wage test, the amount and your estimate →

How much and how long?

Weekly benefit

$56–$370

Weeks

Up to 26 weeks

Waiting week

A waiting week

Working part time

The amount not deducted is $50 plus 25% of your earnings that week.

How it is figured and the full rules →

How to file in Alaska

Apply online through myAlaska (choose "Unemployment Insurance Benefits"), 24 hours a day. You can also call a UI claim center during claim center hours.

File a new claim right away if you quit, are fired or laid off, or are working on-call or part time.

What to have ready

• Your Social Security number
• If you are not a U.S. citizen: your alien registration number, work permit type, passport number and expiration date
• Name, mailing address and phone number of your last employer, and your dates of employment

Certify (claim your weeks)

Weekly. File weekly claims online at my.alaska.gov, or every two weeks by phone through VICTOR, the automated phone system.

Everything about filing →

Appeal a denial

• Appeal to the Appeal Tribunal — 30 calendar days from the date the determination was mailed to you (or the date you were notified in person)
• Appeal to the Commissioner (department review) — 30 calendar days from the date the Appeal Tribunal decision was mailed or delivered to you
• Appeal to the superior court — 30 calendar days

Deadline calculator, appeal letter and hearing checklist: Appeal details →

The hearing

Format

Hearings are held by telephone or in person.

Overpayments and waivers

You must repay benefits you were overpaid, even if they were paid in error.

Appeal within

30 days from the date the notice of determination of liability was mailed or delivered, whichever is earlier

Fraud penalty

50% added when the overpayment is fraud

Waiver

The state can waive some overpayments.

Law: AS 23.20.390

Waiver details and the hearing checklist →

Someone filed a claim in your name

To report unemployment fraud, email uifraud@alaska.gov or call 907-269-4880 (toll-free 1-877-272-4635).

• Report it online
• Phone: 1-877-272-4635

National steps

1. Report it to the state where the claim was filed and follow its instructions. Some states ask for a police report or a sworn statement.
2. If you got a 1099-G for benefits you did not receive, the state will send a corrected 1099-G. When you file taxes, report only the income you actually received; do not wait for the corrected form.
3. Check your free credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com or 877-322-8228. Report other identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.
4. You can also report unemployment identity fraud that happened after March 2020 to the U.S. Department of Justice National Center for Disaster Fraud. You must still report it to the state.

U.S. Department of Labor: report unemployment identity fraud

Good to know in Alaska

• Alaska pays a dependents' allowance of $24 a week per child, up to $72.

  Law: AS 23.20.350(f)

• Alaska's weekly benefit comes from a wage table in the statute, from $56 to $370, and has not been indexed.

  Law: AS 23.20.350(d)

• The number of weeks (16 to 26) depends on how evenly your wages were spread over the base period.

  Law: AS 23.20.350(e)

• A 2026 law raises the maximum weekly benefit to $470 and the dependents' allowance to $72 per dependent (up to $216 a week), and indexes the table each year. It takes effect January 1, 2027, or the day after U.S. Department of Labor approval if later, and only if approved by July 1, 2027.

  Law: HB 302, ch. 52 SLA 2026

Changes in 2024–2026

HB 302 amends AS 23.20.350: new wage table up to $470 a week (for base-period wages of $48,750 or more), dependents' allowance $72 per dependent up to $216, and yearly indexing of the table from January 1. These changes take effect January 1, 2027 (or the day after federal approval, if later) and only if the U.S. Secretary of Labor approves them by July 1, 2027. Claims filed in 2026 use the current $56-$370 table.

Questions about unemployment in Alaska