What Is the Base Period?

 

Find out how your past earnings are used to calculate your unemployment benefits amount in California.

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The base period is the length of time used both to determine your eligibility for unemployment benefits and to calculate the amount you will receive. 

In California, the base period is the first four of the five complete calendar quarters immediately before you filed for benefits. For example, if you file for benefits on March 15, 2022, your base period will be from October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021. It would not include the most recent complete calendar quarter before you filed (October 1, 2021 through December 31, 2021) or the first two-and-a-half months of 2022.

 

If you did not earn enough to qualify for benefits during the regular base period, you may be able to use an alternate base period that counts more recent earnings. California's alternate base period is the last four complete calendar quarters before you file for unemployment. 


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Jurisdictional relevance: ST

There are versions of this article for each State.