How do you get unemployment compensation in Pennsylvania?
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) pays unemployment compensation (UC) to workers who lose a job through no fault of their own or who are working less than their full-time hours. Your first step is filing a claim, online at any hour or by phone at 1-888-313-7284.
File a claim by phone: 1-888-313-7284
If you qualify, UC pays you for a limited time to help you meet expenses while you look for new work.
Your first steps
- Gather your Social Security number, your contact details, and the details of the job that ended. What to have ready has the full list.
- File your claim on the UC benefits site or by phone.
- Watch the mail in your first week for your Notice of Financial Determination (UC-44F), which shows whether your wages qualify. Your first weeks explains each mailing and what to check.
- File a weekly certification for each week you are out of work or working less than full time. Weekly claims covers how, and when payments arrive.
Who qualifies
Eligibility turns on your base-year wages, including at least 18 credit weeks of $116 or more, and on why your job ended. Who qualifies for unemployment covers being fired, quitting, self-employment, and part-time work.
Getting help in person
To meet UC staff in person, book an appointment through the UC In-Person Scheduling and Log In support line at 1-855-284-8545. For help finding a job, the offices and phone numbers page lists PA CareerLink offices by city, along with every UC phone line.
Pennsylvania unemployment guides
- How to fileWhat to have ready, backdating, cut hours, and your first UC mailings
- Who qualifiesWage tests, quitting or being fired, self-employment, and requalifying
- How much it paysThe 2026 rate range, how L&I figures your rate, and what lowers a payment
- How long it lastsCredit weeks, your maximum benefit amount, and the Benefit Year End date
- Weekly claims and work searchFiling each week online or by phone, getting paid, and the work search
- Denials, appeals, and overpaymentsAppealing a decision, the hearing, overpayments, and reporting fraud
- TaxesYour 1099-G, federal withholding, and Pennsylvania income tax on benefits
- Offices and phone numbersUC phone lines and their hours, in-person visits, and PA CareerLink offices
- DisabilityApplying for SSDI or SSI, short-term disability, and illness during a UC claim
- JobsPA CareerLink job search, its offices and free services, and more job boards
- Questions and answersFirst payments, biweekly filing, cut hours, denials, and help beyond UC