Unemployment

I promised I'd write about my journey towards unemployment.

And I'm sure there's people out there who might read this and maybe gain some insight in to what they might expect. Or maybe might be feeling the same as I am right now.

For me, this is a pretty big blow. I think I've mentioned this in a previous post, but every time I think about it, it hurts a bit. And it hasn't really gone away over the past couple of months.

It sucks knowing that my peers are out there succeeding while I'm looking to start over. I hate knowing I will more than likely have a commute in the future - that I'll have to get dressed every day. That I'll lose my 5 weeks of vacation, and what little history I had built with my company.

I just feel like I don't want people to think I'm lazy - I feel like I got unlucky.

I also think that although they publish the unemployment number at almost 10% I think it's probably close to double that. I'm sure there are people out there who have given up on looking for jobs. Or they've just decided to cut back everything and live off of one income (if they're still lucky to even have that).

It's also hard to keep my head up when everyone else around me who is getting laid off is welcoming the lack of work with open arms. They can't wait to take this extended vacation. I am not one of those people. I think being without a job is embarrassing. I was hoping I would get over that feeling by this time, but I haven't. I think doing work is doing your part in this world and gives life a nice structure to it (even though many of us may hate our jobs). Also the benefits of being employed typically exceed the benefits of not being employed.

And yes, the money will be good for almost half a year. I'm going to receive a nice payout for the vacation hours I never used and then receive another 11 weeks of severance where they continue to pay me as if I was still working for the company. On top of that the amount of money I'll be receiving from unemployment was much higher than I had originally imagined.

Originally I figured that unemployment would be about 2/3rds of what I was earning while I was working. Either that or half seemed like the right amount to pay someone on unemployment.

For me, I will receive almost $2300 a month. This seemed like much more than I was going to get because I never calculated in the money that I never saw from my paycheck. I was maxing out my match to my 401K by contributing 7% a year. I was reporting "0" to the IRS because I always figured if I had it I'd spend it. I was paying towards a few benefits which I rarely ever used. And because of all that the unemployment amount will be enough for me to easily survive off of.

So you may have some questions for someone that's been through it, like I had before I gone through it.

Q: How do I apply for unemployment?
A: For Washington state residents go to http://www.go2ui.com and you can apply there.

Q: What do you have to do to continue to receive unemployment benefits?
A: After applying they require you to make 3 job "contacts" per week. To me, that means applying for 3 jobs a week. The unemployment office does have the ability to audit your applications so I have kept a record of all the jobs I have applied for. Also, you must file a weekly claim which is basically a set of yes or no questions which can also be done through the same website.

Q: How was your benefit amount calculated?
A: You can read through this website (again for WA state residents) to calculate your benefits.

Q: How quickly do you start to receive unemployment payments?
A: As soon as I received the announcement that I would be losing my job someone mentioned that it may take up to 6 weeks to receive my first payment. Knowing this, I applied for my unemployment benefits a month before my last day of work. After speaking with someone at the unemployment office supposedly the longest I would wait after applying for benefits would be 1 week. I am not sure if the 6 week time frame is true or not but I didn't want to test it.

Q: How long will you receive unemployment for?
A: The initial period is 6 months. They give you a maximum dollar amount for unemployment for those 6 months so if you do somehow make more money during a certain week (while you are unemployed, for example doing a side job or week-long only job) they will not pay out the unemployment benefits. You can apply for extensions for the unemployment benefit up to 2 years.

Q: Will your unemployment payment decrease after the initial 6 months of payments?
A: No

Q: Will my income be affected by taxes once I start working again because I've received unemployment money?
A: No

Q: If I move out of state to try and find a new job in a new location (or move in with relatives/family/friends) will I still continue to receive my unemployment payment from Washington state?
A: Yes

Q: How do taxes work on money that is paid to you for unemployment?
A: The application gave me the ability to let the IRS take 10% of what unemployment is paying me. I believe I answered that I don't want them to take it (sad I don't remember) since I have so many deductions at the end of the year that usually I need that income to write it off against (not even sure if this makes sense). I don't really have the answer to this question until I file my taxes next year - and God willing I'll have a new job by then.

If you have any further questions please let me know. I've got a total of 7 working days left, 1 of which I only have to sign my severance papers and the others I don't really want to work. So I'll definitely have time to do some research.

After over 4 years and so many changes I've gone through in my job, it'll be weird to wake up Monday morning, August 3rd 2009 and not have a job. I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get there.