Mississippi Unemployment Calculator 2026
Mississippi pays $30–$235 per week for up to 26 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is 1/26 of your highest-earning base-period quarter. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES).
Works offline — your inputs never leave this device. How that works
Enter your gross wages for each quarter of the base period — roughly the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters before you file. Your state's exact window is shown with the result.
Base period: First four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the initial claim for benefits..
File your claim with Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-07-31 against MDES UI-505.A - Table of Weekly Benefit Amounts and Maximum Amounts (effective 2026-01-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Mississippi disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
- Disregard: flat $40.00
- Countable earnings: $150.00 − $40.00 = $110.00
- Payable: WBA $400.00 − $110.00 = $290.00
How long benefits can last
Up to 26 weeks; total benefits are UI-505.A: 'The maximum amount of benefits that can be paid to you during your Benefit Year is 26 times your Weekly Benefit Amount or one-third of your total wages during your Base Period, whichever is the lesser.'
Who qualifies for benefits in Mississippi
MDES FAQ: wages in at least two quarters of the base period; at least $780.00 in the highest quarter; and total base-period earnings of at least forty (40) times the weekly benefit amount (UI-505.A column C).
- Minimum high-quarter wages
- $780
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) ↗
Base period in Mississippi
First four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the initial claim for benefits.. No alternate base period is offered. No alternate base period appears in the MDES materials opened 2026-07-31 (unemployment FAQ, UI-505.A chart, claimant handbook page).
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
The MDES claimant materials opened this session (FAQ, UI-505.A, handbook page) do not publish a severance rule; report separation pay to MDES, which determines any effect on the claim.
Source: MDES UI-505.A - Table of Weekly Benefit Amounts and Maximum Amounts (verified 2026-07-31).
Mississippi unemployment: frequently asked questions
Mississippi pays between $30 and $235 per week in 2026. Your amount is 1/26 of your highest-earning base-period quarter, and only Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-07-31.
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