Your work history is used to determine if you earned enough wages in insured work to establish a claim. Insured work is work performed for any employer that is required to contribute to the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

An unemployment claim is established using a Base Period determined at the time the claim is established. In Missouri the base period is defined as the first four of the previous five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the quarter in which the claim begins.  See below to determine base period of an unemployment claim. 

*Base Periods always begin on the first Sunday in January, April, July, and October.  Any days prior to the first Sunday date are part of the prior Base Period.

To be eligible to establish a claim, you must earn at least $2,250 (at least $1,500 during one of the calendar quarters, and at least $750 during the remainder of the year) from an insured employer during your Base Period and:

• Your total Base Period wages must be at least 1.5 times the highest quarter wages   

OR

• You must earn at least 1.5 times the Taxable Wage Base during at least two of the four quarters.
• If you are filing a new claim now and filed one a year ago, you cannot requalify to be paid on the new claim unless you have worked and earned wages in insured work.  The wages must be:
• Earned after the prior claim was established
• More than 5 times your current weekly benefit amount for wages earned in Missouri or 10 times your current weekly benefit amount for wages earned out of the State of Missouri.