Weekly benefit amount and weeks in Ohio

The weekly benefit

Weekly benefit

$176–$624

Maximum: claims filed in 2026 (maximums are reset each year on the Sunday of the week that includes January 1)

How it is figured

Your weekly benefit is half (50%) of your average weekly wage in the base period (total base-period wages divided by your qualifying weeks), rounded down to the dollar, but not more than the maximum for your dependency class: $624 with no dependents, $757 with 1 or 2, $842 with 3 or more (2026). For 2026 claims your average weekly wage must be at least $352, so the lowest weekly benefit is $176. Example from ODJFS: an average weekly wage of $1,300 gives $650 a week if you have dependents, but $624 (the class A maximum) if you have none. The maximums rise each January with the statewide average weekly wage.

Dependents

Your maximum depends on your dependency class. For claims filed in 2026: no dependents (class A) $624 a week; 1 or 2 dependents (class B) $757; 3 or more dependents (class C) $842. A dependent can be a child under 18 (or older and unable to work because of a permanent disability) or a spouse living with you, if you provided more than half of their support for the 90 days before your claim; a spouse's income must be no more than 25% of your average weekly wage. You can appeal your dependency class only within the first 21-day appeal period.

Official

Official table or notice

Law: Ohio Rev. Code 4141.30(B), (E); ODJFS, How UI Benefits are Calculated (2026)

The wage test

You must have worked in covered employment in at least 20 qualifying weeks in your base period (a week counts if you earned or were paid any wages in it), and your average weekly wage in those weeks must be at least 27.5% of Ohio's statewide average weekly wage. For claims filed in 2026 that means an average weekly wage of at least $352.

Your base period is the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before your benefit year starts. If you do not have enough weeks and wages in it, ODJFS uses the alternate base period: the four most recently completed quarters.

The state's wage tests

• At least 20 qualifying weeks, with an average weekly wage of at least 27.5% of the statewide average weekly wage — 20 qualifying weeks in covered employment, and an average weekly wage (total base-period wages divided by qualifying weeks) of at least $352 for claims filed in 2026.

Law: Ohio Rev. Code 4141.01(O), (Q), (R); ODJFS, How UI Benefits are Calculated (2026)

Official source: Source page

How long it lasts

Up to 26 weeks.

You can get one weekly benefit for each qualifying week you worked in your base period, from 20 weeks up to a maximum of 26 weeks. You get the full 26 weeks only if you worked 26 or more qualifying weeks.

Law: Ohio Rev. Code 4141.30(D)

Official source: Source page

Waiting week

There is one unpaid waiting week per benefit year. It starts with the first week you file a claim that ODJFS allows.

Law: Ohio Rev. Code 4141.29(B), (C)

Official source: Source page

Working part time

If your hours are cut involuntarily and you earn less than your weekly benefit amount, you may get partial benefits. Earnings up to 20% of your weekly benefit amount are not counted; ODJFS subtracts the rest of your earnings from your weekly benefit and rounds down to the dollar. Example from ODJFS: with a $400 weekly benefit and $200 in earnings, $80 is not counted, $120 is subtracted, and you get $280. You get nothing for a week in which your earnings equal or exceed your weekly benefit amount.

Law: Ohio Rev. Code 4141.30(C)

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

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