www.arknet.arkansas.gov Calculate Arkansas Unemployment Benefits

In Arkansas the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services handles unemployment benefits. If you have lost your job and you didn't even give them any reason to fire you. The state of Arkansas provides monetary unemployment benefits to workers who have lost their jobs and are seeking employment. The purpose of the benefit is to help unemployed workers and their families with necessary living expenses until the unemployed worker can find another position. The amount a worker is allowed to draw from the unemployment compensation system depends upon how much he made in the year prior to when he filed a claim for unemployment benefits. However, weekly benefits may not exceed $345.


The Arkansas unemployment insurance program defines your base period as the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to the quarter you filed your initial claim for benefits. For example, if you intend to file for benefits in January, February or March, your base period would run from September to the previous October. If you file in April, May or June, your base period runs from December to the previous January, and so on.

Determine the quarter within your base period in which your wages were the highest. A quarter is a three-month period, starting with January through March. For example, if you earned the most income in the first quarter of the year, this would be the quarter on which your weekly benefit amount would be based.

Calculate the total amount of gross income (before taxes) that you made in the highest earning quarter of your base period. You should refer to your pay stubs and W-2 statements to get the most accurate calculation.

Divide your total earnings for the quarter by 26. You weekly benefit amount will be the lesser of the quotient of that equation or the maximum weekly benefit amount of $345.