Earnings

• Of the last five full calendar quarters, your earnings from the first four of those quarters are relevant to your eligibility for unemployment benefits. Your weekly benefit amount is 4 percent of your wages in the highest-earning of the four quarters. As of 2010, Wisconsin residents are eligible for unemployment benefits if they earned at least $1,350 in their "high quarter." That would translate to weekly unemployment benefits of $54, which is the current minimum under state law; the maximum is $363 for residents who earned $9,075 or more in their high quarter. Your total wages from your four-quarter base period must be equal to at least 35 times your weekly benefit amount.
  
  

Partial Unemployment

• You may be able to receive unemployment benefits at a reduced rate if you work on a part-time basis. You must report all income, including any income for paid time off such as holiday wages. The state computes your partial wage rate by subtracting $30 from your total reported income and multiplying your remaining wages by two-thirds. It subtracts that number from your weekly benefit amount and rounds down to the nearest dollar. That total is what you receive in unemployment benefits for the week.
  
  

Job Loss

• If you quit your most recent job without good cause or receive a termination for misconduct or excessive absenteeism or tardiness, you're not eligible to receive benefits in Wisconsin until you earn subsequent wages. In the case of quitting your job, you must earn four times your weekly benefit amount to be eligible. In the case of a termination for absenteeism or tardiness, you must earn six times your weekly benefit amount. In the case of a termination for misconduct, you must earn 14 times your weekly benefit amount. In each case, the state also imposes a four- to seven-week suspension of benefits before granting you eligibility.
  
  

Work Availability

• Your eligibility to receive unemployment benefits in Wisconsin hinges on your availability to accept suitable offers of work. If you refuse work and don't have good cause, the state suspends your benefits for four weeks and requires you to earn four times your weekly benefit amount before reinstating them. Failing to make what the state considers a viable job search might also disqualify you temporarily. If you're not able or available to work in a given week, the state investigates the circumstances before determining whether you remain eligible for that week.