6 ms·

Unemployment benefits in California* last for 26 weeks, but the maximum benefit is $450/week, enough to cover about half the rent payment on a studio apartment

by arebop 10y ago

Unemployment benefits in California* last for 26 weeks, but the maximum benefit is $450/week, enough to cover about half the rent payment on a studio apartment in the Bay Area. Prudent workers save on their own for the possibility of unemployment. *(corrected from U.S.)

vonmoltke 10y ago
You can't really talk about unemployment benefits in the U.S. because unemployment is a state matter.
ido 10y ago
Interesting that it's not a percentage of your wage, seeing as you pay more unemployment insurance/social security the more you earn (at least you do in Austria and Germany). In Austria it was 55% if your net salary IIRC.
- laxatives 10y ago
  I believe it is tied to wage, but it isn't really designed to support high income earners and has a relatively low ceiling as far as software engineers are concerned.
- rharb 10y ago
  It is a percentage of your wage, but they have pretty tight lower and upper bounds on it. Where I'm at in Ohio, it's one-half of your average weekly wage, but also constrained within $118-$435 pre-tax.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
refurb 10y ago
Being pedantic here, but $450/week is $1800 per month. I'm sure there are examples of studios at $3600/month, but I've seen plenty of one-bedrooms in desirable neighborhoods for less than $3600/month (based on last month's Craigslist).
- seanp2k2 10y ago
  True, and outside of SF you can find studios for under $2k, but unemployment won't additionally cover any living expenses beyond basically base rent. If times were super hard, you could possibly find a room to rent for $1200 if you get really lucky, $1400-$1600 if not, then try hard to make that remaining $200-$600 cover the rest of your expenses, and good luck if you're not just single, young, able-bodied, and able to find another job in a few months.
  - kbenson 10y ago
    Presumably you could also relocate temporarily to a surrounding area where it's (relatively) cheaper, and bus, drive, and soon possibly train in for anything requiring you be in the city. You should have enough free time on your hands that the time eaten by commuting isn't a problem.
    - shagie 10y ago
      Relocation typically has the question of "can you afford to live here?" This is done with a pay stub of offer letter to see if you have 3x the money on it than rent. If you are unemployed this can become rather difficult. This says nothing of the cost of breaking a lease or the expense of moving itself. If you don't have the 3+ month savings, unemployment checks are eaten away by basic living in no time flat. This is being said by someone who had a paycheck bounce which in turn lead to what would have been a bad check written for rent. Fortunately I had a friend who loaned me $1k for rent who banked at the same place and immediately got me in touch which another job offer.
      - kbenson 10y ago
        True. I was mostly thinking of the situation where you have some money saved, and want to make it last. In that case, showing a bank account balance might be sufficient. You'll have to decide yourself whether you think it's worth choosing a shorter lease and breaking it or living with it if you get another job, or trying to secure a month-to month deal for the short term. If you don't have enough money saved to even do this, I'm not sure staying in an apartment in SF is a good idea anyway. Probably better to couch-surf if you can swing it, unless you are fairly sure of a new job very quickly. Anything to reduce the outlay on inflated SF housing costs, keeping in mind that if you range far enough, you might find a small studio for half or third the SF cost.

by arebop 10y ago

vonmoltke 10y ago

You can't really talk about unemployment benefits in the U.S. because unemployment is a state matter.

ido 10y ago

Interesting that it's not a percentage of your wage, seeing as you pay more unemployment insurance/social security the more you earn (at least you do in Austria and Germany). In Austria it was 55% if your net salary IIRC.

laxatives 10y ago
I believe it is tied to wage, but it isn't really designed to support high income earners and has a relatively low ceiling as far as software engineers are concerned.
rharb 10y ago
It is a percentage of your wage, but they have pretty tight lower and upper bounds on it. Where I'm at in Ohio, it's one-half of your average weekly wage, but also constrained within $118-$435 pre-tax.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

refurb 10y ago

Being pedantic here, but $450/week is $1800 per month. I'm sure there are examples of studios at $3600/month, but I've seen plenty of one-bedrooms in desirable neighborhoods for less than $3600/month (based on last month's Craigslist).

seanp2k2 10y ago
True, and outside of SF you can find studios for under $2k, but unemployment won't additionally cover any living expenses beyond basically base rent. If times were super hard, you could possibly find a room to rent for $1200 if you get really lucky, $1400-$1600 if not, then try hard to make that remaining $200-$600 cover the rest of your expenses, and good luck if you're not just single, young, able-bodied, and able to find another job in a few months.
- kbenson 10y ago
  Presumably you could also relocate temporarily to a surrounding area where it's (relatively) cheaper, and bus, drive, and soon possibly train in for anything requiring you be in the city. You should have enough free time on your hands that the time eaten by commuting isn't a problem.
  - shagie 10y ago
    Relocation typically has the question of "can you afford to live here?" This is done with a pay stub of offer letter to see if you have 3x the money on it than rent. If you are unemployed this can become rather difficult. This says nothing of the cost of breaking a lease or the expense of moving itself. If you don't have the 3+ month savings, unemployment checks are eaten away by basic living in no time flat. This is being said by someone who had a paycheck bounce which in turn lead to what would have been a bad check written for rent. Fortunately I had a friend who loaned me $1k for rent who banked at the same place and immediately got me in touch which another job offer.
    - kbenson 10y ago
      True. I was mostly thinking of the situation where you have some money saved, and want to make it last. In that case, showing a bank account balance might be sufficient. You'll have to decide yourself whether you think it's worth choosing a shorter lease and breaking it or living with it if you get another job, or trying to secure a month-to month deal for the short term. If you don't have enough money saved to even do this, I'm not sure staying in an apartment in SF is a good idea anyway. Probably better to couch-surf if you can swing it, unless you are fairly sure of a new job very quickly. Anything to reduce the outlay on inflated SF housing costs, keeping in mind that if you range far enough, you might find a small studio for half or third the SF cost.