How do you get unemployment in Texas?
Unemployment benefits are temporary payments from the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) that replace part of your income, and employers pay for them. Your first step is to apply online as soon as you are out of work or your hours are cut.
Apply online with TWC
TWC unemployment Tele-Center: 800-939-6631
Who the benefits are for
Benefits are for you if you lost your job, or are working reduced hours, through no fault of your own. Before it can pay you, TWC looks at the wages you earned in the past, why your job ended, and whether you keep meeting requirements like being able to work. You must meet the requirements in all 3, and who qualifies goes through each one.
Your first steps, in order
- Apply for benefits after your last workday, online or through a Tele-Center.
- Register for work search within 3 business days of applying, a separate step from your application. If you live in Texas or regularly commute to work there from a bordering state, register on WorkInTexas.com. If not, register with the American Job Center in the state where you live.
- Request payment on the date in the instructions TWC sends you, then every 2 weeks, even if TWC has not yet told you whether you are eligible.
- Each week, make at least the minimum number of work search activities and record them in a work search log.
Payment requests explains the payment schedule and the work search rules in full.
Texas unemployment guides
- How to fileWhen to apply, what to have ready, and what to do in the first weeks
- Who qualifiesWage tests, quits and firings, employer disputes, and being able to work
- How much it paysThe weekly amount, how TWC figures it, and what part-time work does to it
- How long it lastsThe most a claim pays, the 52-week benefit year, and extended benefits
- Payment requestsWhen to request payment, work search rules, and the work search log
- Denials, appeals, and overpaymentsDeterminations, appeal deadlines, hearings, overpayments, and repayment
- TaxesFederal tax on benefits, withholding, and getting Form 1099-G from TWC
- Offices and phone numbersTWC phone numbers for claims, and Workforce Solutions offices by city
- DisabilitySSDI and SSI, disability insurance, unemployment, and Social Security offices
- JobsWorkInTexas.com, Workforce Solutions offices, and local workforce boards
- Questions and answersLate or smaller payments, part-time work, a new job, fraud, and 2-1-1 Texas