...to my American friends...

Lucky are those in the 1st countries who fear nothing where the next meal comes from. Their governments are taking care of them when they suddenly fall into unemployment. It is unfortunate for people in third world countries where some have to resort to crimes because of unemployment.

Unemployment benefits are granted only to those declared not losing their job of no fault of their own. Benefits are only approved if the person worked the full 1st quarters of the prior year. It can get a bit sticky though if a person get fired even if no fault of their own. There is a process they must go through in order to prove the reasoning. Basically unemployment benefits are sort of calculated at 25% of what they normally own and of course if they have minor dependent children they get about %90 more per two weeks additional as well.

people who get unemployment have paid in for it. it's not a free ride. you have to have worked a certain amount of time to qualify tho, and once your benefit time runs out,if you haven't found a new job,you're screwed.

Its actually called unemployment compensation. Empolyers pay into this and when something happens where the employee looses his/her job through no cause of their own they can recieve payments for a period of time or untill they find a job. The amount the unemployed recieves depends on the amount the had earned. And its never equal to what they earned on the job. In fact its much less.

its a good thing to that there is unemployment benefits here because with this job problems lately i have 2 kids on it with families that desperately need it. and luckily the president saw to it that its extended since most people are still up the creek without jobs,

to answer your question yes it is. It is know a unemploment insurence. I recely filled for it myself. It is bacaly a weekly check based on your current incoume and emplyment hsitory. It is manage and issued my the state goverment here and varires from state to state. the money comes from taxes paied by the employers themselfs. It is however only good for a limmited time. as for me i now have a full time job and I no longer need it.

Yes... But there are restrictions of course. You usually get an unemployment stipend when you have been laid off from your job. If you are unemployed just because you're too lazy to get a job, because you got fired, or voluntarily quit, you won't get unemployment. You only get unemployment for a certain amount of time. I'm sure you could find a government website that could help you explain some of the details, depending on what state you are talking about (as rules vary state-by-state, I believe).

I don't know much about American matters here. I know in Canada, we have several options for the unemployed depending on the reasons they are no longer employed. Every case is circumstantial though, but we have Employment Insurance, which is a Government program, that we pay a bit off of each pay check into, and then if an unforeseeable lay off occurs, we can collect a portion of money back, based on hours worked and wages earned in the last 3 months or something like that. Welfare, for the unemployable, as well as ASH, or something like that for the disabled...many government run social services. And it is different according to each persons situations, Unemployment is the state of not working for yourself or another person to earn a sustainable income that can provide the basic needs of life. Sincerely and With Appreciation.

Unemployment is actually a kind of insurance that companies and employees pay for here in the United States. You are able to draw on unemployment insurance when you lose a job due to no fault of your own. For example, you are part of a massive layoff or your company folds. However, it is really not that easy to get it. My sister lost her job in September and still hasn't heard for sure if she is going to be able to get unemployment.