I hope everyone that was laid off applies for unemployment. I did so a few weeks ago and this morning there was a $275 deposit in my checking account. This is Florida which I believe has the lowest amount available but at least it is something and if/when another stimulus is passed I'm automatically set to receive that. I never thought or wanted to ever do this but I said to myself that I've been paying into the system for nearly 40 years so I might as well get whatever is available to me. The application is confusing (I think on purpose) but if you take an hour to work thru it things will happen and in Florida the governor has put in place procedures that allow us to claim without actively looking for work. This started last May and he has extended it multiple times.
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Congratulations on navigating Florida's Unemployment Benefits system.
You [and your employer] did indeed pay into Social Security and Medicare; however, only the employer pays into the Unemployment Insurance program. The employer's "experience rate" of taxation then goes up, or down, depending on the number of unemployment claims, or lack of claims, over the years.