Delaware Unemployment Information

[Chase]

Here is a site with lots of info for Delaware Unemployment Info

Delaware Department of Labor - Division of Unemployment Insurance - Welcome

Unemployment Insurance Information Hotline:

• New Castle County residents
(302) 761-6576

• Kent & Sussex County residents
(800) 794-3032


Important Information for Employers - Pursuant to HB 144 signed into law on June 18, 2007, the taxable wage base will be increased from $8,500 to $10,500 effective January 1, 2008. Accordingly, starting with unemployment insurance taxes due for the first quarter of calendar year 2008 and thereafter, employers will pay unemployment insurance tax on the first $10,500 of earnings of each employee instead of the first $8,500 of earnings of each employee. And for “benefit wages” charged to employer accounts based on unemployment insurance benefits claims filed effective January 1, 2008 and thereafter, the maximum “benefit wage” charge per claim also increases from $8,500 to $10,500. Any questions regarding the increase in taxable wage should be directed to the UI Tax Operations Unit at (302) 761-8482.

FAQ's

Delaware Department of Labor - Division of Unemployment Insurance - Claimant FAQs

[daisy dog]

So we solve unemployment by raising taxes?

[lewin]

let me tell you something about unemployment... DE unemployment blows ass. seriously $330 a week is the MAX for many years i have collected DE unemployment since winter layoffs come every year for construction. i did get hired by a company in PA and ended up collecting unemployment there. i made about the same money per year and PA gave me almost $600 a week WITH extra $8 per week for each dependant i have. Im not sure what NJ or MD rates are but from what im told they are higher than DE as well.

[Chase]

I think NJ is the highest around for unemployment pay.

[lewin]

oh also... DE is behind the times as well in reporting your weekly claims. with PA's unemployment i could file for two weeks ( they paid every two weeks not each week) ONLINE in the matter if 5 minutes. DE "phone-in" crap takes you 15 minutes for file for 1 week. there is no online service.

[Hollow]

In Maryland it is $410 a week max. Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Banner

In Pennsylvania it is $558 a week max. L&I: UCP-1: Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Handbook

In New Jersey it is $560 a week max. http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/19412-maximum-unemployment-benefit-amount-2008-increases-24

[Spyder08]

When I was laid off at my last job I was very thankful that I was able to collect in NJ. I was able to collect the max at $560 a week. I don't think I could have survived the $330 a week that Delaware gives. Seriously, who can live off $330 a week?

[M.Opaliski]

Get a job, or two or three if the benefits are too low, just a thought ...

[lewin]

even if you take the 4 states ( DE, MD, PA, NJ ) and average them out thats 464 a week. even if DE went up to that DE unemployment recipients would be better off

[TattdMom]

When I was laid off at my last job I was very thankful that I was able to collect in NJ. I was able to collect the max at $560 a week. I don't think I could have survived the $330 a week that Delaware gives. Seriously, who can live off $330 a week?

Seriously? Some of us do it every day of our lives, and we work for that $330 a week. You just do what you have to do and move forward. I literally bring home just over that and I've managed to raise a family of 5 on it quite nicely. We aren't rich by any means but the bills are paid.

[motherof3]

Seriously? Some of us do it every day of our lives, and we work for that $330 a week. You just do what you have to do and move forward. I literally bring home just over that and I've managed to raise a family of 5 on it quite nicely. We aren't rich by any means but the bills are paid.

One of the things I loved when I moved to this area was all the dollar stores. As a single mom working 2 jobs those dollar stores were a life saver. We all have different income levels and different budgets. Right now I'm thankful for the dollar stores again and that I have a job at all. I'm actually really proud of the fact that I can make the money we bring in stretch. I'm glad I've been broke and had to struggle in the past, because right now I know it could always be worse. I'd hate to be on the other end of the spectrum of always having enough and not know how to budget when you really have to. I've seen that too and I'm glad it's not me. I've tried to teach my kids that we have a great life and are blessed for all that we do have, there are so many other people out there that have nothing.

[lewin]

no offense Tat... when you go living on bring home 3 times that amount and live at that lifestyle with mortgage payments and vehicle payments and then drop to that 330 a week it makes it hard.

normally i make 60K a year. unemployment only pays little over 17K thats a 43K drop in pay averaging about $800 a week gross LOSS

[Spyder08]

Seriously? Some of us do it every day of our lives, and we work for that $330 a week. You just do what you have to do and move forward. I literally bring home just over that and I've managed to raise a family of 5 on it quite nicely. We aren't rich by any means but the bills are paid.

That's great that people can live off of that but not everyone can. It's not easy for someone who was bringing in over $1k a week to go down to $330 a week. You get adapted to a certain lifestyle at the salary you make and then when that salary is drastically reduced it causes issues.

[lewin]

imagine trying to live on $100 a week for comparision

[Jessica]

I understand that other states have higher unemployment pay, but what you also have to understand is that other states also have a higher cost of living.

New Jersey, for example, where I used to live, is RIDICULOUS. I lived in Northern NJ, close to NYC, where a one bedroom condo goes for $250,000 and a one bedroom apartment is anywhere from $1000 to $2000.

Because unemployment is paid by the state, not by the town or county you worked in, it is based on a statewide average. For the record, I think this is stupid. Someone working and raising a family on the salary of a bank officer in Wilmington shouldn't have the same maximum as someone working and raising a family on the salary of a supermarket worker in Gumboro.

Neither job is "better" than the other. They're just different areas, different lifestyles. If you have a budget based on $29,000 a year versus $75,000 and lose a job due to no fault of your own, you'll make out a lot better on $330 a week. Sure, you can adapt your $75,000 a year lifestyle, but at what cost? Your house going into foreclosure?

[BillW]

Seriously? Some of us do it every day of our lives, and we work for that $330 a week. You just do what you have to do and move forward. I literally bring home just over that and I've managed to raise a family of 5 on it quite nicely. We aren't rich by any means but the bills are paid.

Being rich does not only mean monetarily. Sounds like your life and family are full of richness.

[Mr. Haney]

Wants and needs.

[max1]

I worked in a factory in Wilmington for 19 3/4 years making 60 plus a year, and we were raising 5 kids. Then the factory closed, and we were making 330 bucks a week. Talk about a change, damn. We sat down and went through everything we spent money on, we took the severance pay I got and started "Adventure Time Party Rentals" I started working in an entry level job at the Department of Agriculture @min. wage and we fought our way up from there. It sucked at times but I can tell you it forced us to take a step back and look at where we were, a lot of the changes we made then are still in effect now and we are ok, we learned to live with less, and if we wanted something we found extra work to pay for it.

[Jessica]

I think there are a lot of things you can cut out of a lifestyle to mke ends meet, but there are plenty of things you can't - mortgage, car payment, etc. Holy crap Max, you have five kids?

[Curly]

Just for my own curiosity. Any of you who have been laid off and had to take a drastic cut in pay through unemployment, what kind of bills are you paying besides the mortgage, power, groceries etc? I'm not trying to be a wise ass and I do feel for you. Everybody has a different situation.