Weekly benefit amount and weeks in North Carolina

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$15–$350

Maximum: set in law since 2013; not indexed

How it is figured

DES adds up the wages you were paid in the last two completed quarters of your base period, divides by 52, and rounds down to the whole dollar. If the result is under $15, you cannot get benefits. The most you can get is $350 a week.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-14.2(a)

The wage test

You must have been paid wages in at least two quarters of your base period, and your total base-period wages must be at least six times the state's average weekly insured wage. Your weekly benefit amount must also come to at least $15.

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your claim starts. If your wages are not enough, DES uses an alternative base period: the last four completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts. You cannot use the alternative base period again for a claim in the next benefit year.

The state's wage tests

• Wages in at least 2 quarters, totaling at least 6 times the average weekly insured wage — Total base-period wages of at least 6 times North Carolina's average weekly insured wage, and a weekly benefit amount of at least $15

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-14.1(b)

Official source: Source page

Estimate your weekly benefit

Enter the gross wages (before taxes) you were paid in each quarter of your base period. We apply the state's own formula to your numbers.

The state's formula: the wages the state uses ÷ 52, rounded down; at least $15 and at most $350

How long it lasts

Currently 12 weeks (it changes with the unemployment rate).

You can currently get benefits for up to 12 weeks. Your total benefits are your weekly benefit amount times the number of weeks in effect when you file. Your monetary determination shows your number of weeks.

The number of weeks (12 to 20) depends on North Carolina's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and is reset for claims filed from each January 1 and July 1. For claims filed January-June, DES uses the average rate for the previous July, August and September; for claims filed July-December, the average for January, February and March. A rate of 5.5% or less means 12 weeks; each half-point above that adds a week (20 weeks above 9%). DES currently says you can get up to 12 weeks. A new number can apply to claims filed from January 1, 2027.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-14.3

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

North Carolina law requires an unpaid waiting week for each claim. The first week you are eligible is your waiting week. You must still file your weekly certification for it. There is no waiting week for unemployment caused directly by a federally declared disaster.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-14.1(b)

Official source: Source page

Working part time

You can work part time and still get benefits. You can earn up to 20% of your weekly benefit amount (your 'earning allowance') with no deduction. DES subtracts any earnings above that amount from your weekly benefit, rounded down to the whole dollar. Your earning allowance is shown on your monetary determination. Report all earnings before taxes for the week you worked, even if you have not been paid yet.

Earnings not deducted (as the data states it)

An amount equal to 20% of your weekly benefit amount is not deducted.

Law: N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-14.2(b)

Official source: Source page

What applies in every state

• You must have earned enough wages, or worked enough, during a period called the base period. In most states it is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file.
• It generally takes two to three weeks after you file to get your first payment. Some states require a one-week waiting period, so the second week you claim is the first week paid.
• Unemployment benefits count as income for federal income tax. You must report them on your federal tax return.

  Law: 26 U.S.C. 85(a)

Free help

Call 1-888-737-0259. Legal aid and other free help in North Carolina → Official sources →