Rhode Island Unemployment Calculator 2026
Rhode Island pays $82–$971 per week for up to 26 weeks in 2026. Your weekly benefit amount is 3.85% of the average of your two highest-earning quarters. Enter your quarterly wages below to estimate it — the math runs entirely in your browser, from figures verified against Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT).
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: DLT 2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference: 'The first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to claim; or last 4 completed quarters if needed to meet minimum earnings requirement' (an alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard one).
File your claim with Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — only the agency determines your actual benefit.
Verified 2026-08-01 against R.I. Department of Labor and Training, Labor Market Information Division - '2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference (Effective July 1, 2026)' + DLT press release 'Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts for Unemployment and Temporary Disability Insurance to Increase in July' (June 22, 2026) + R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-6, 28-44-7, 28-44-9, 28-44-11, 28-44-59, 28-42-3(3) (effective 2026-07-01)
Estimate only — not legal, tax, or financial advice. Only Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) can determine your actual amounts.
Official source: Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) — file a claim ↗
Working part-time? Partial benefits
Rhode Island disregards part of what you earn in a week before reducing your benefit. Estimate what a part-time week leaves you with:
How dependants change the Rhode Island benefit
R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-6(b)(1): a dependants' allowance of 'fifteen dollars ($15.00) or five percent (5%) of the individual's benefit rate, whichever is greater' for each dependent child under 18 (or an older child incapable of earning wages because of incapacity), and 'The total dependents' allowance paid to any individual shall not exceed the greater of fifty dollars ($50) or twenty-five percent (25%) of the individual's benefit rate.' 28-44-6(b)(3): 'In no instance shall the number of dependents for which an individual may receive dependents' allowances exceed five (5) in total.' 28-44-6(b)(4): the weekly total is rounded down to the next lower dollar. For a partial-benefit week the allowance is pro-rated by 'the percentage that their partial weekly benefit rate is compared to their full weekly benefit rate' (28-44-6(b)(1)). This greater-of allowance under a greater-of ceiling is not expressible as a flat or percentage rule, so the calculator adds $0 for dependants and shows this text instead - at the top of the scale the maximum with five dependants is $971 per week (DLT Quick Reference).
How long benefits can last
Up to 26 weeks; total benefits are R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-9: total benefits payable in a benefit year equal 'thirty-three percent (33%) of the individual's total wages for employment by employers subject to chapters 42 - 44 of this title during his or her base period; provided, that no individual shall be paid total benefits in any benefit year that exceed twenty-six (26) times his or her weekly benefit rate', rounded down to the next lower dollar. Dependants' allowances are paid in addition to that total. The DLT Quick Reference lists MAXIMUM DURATION as '26 weeks', which is the ceiling reached only when 33% of base-period wages is at least 26 times the weekly rate.
Who qualifies for benefits in Rhode Island
DLT 2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference, ELIGIBILITY - MONETARY (based on a minimum wage of $16.00/hour): '$19,200 in base period wages; or one quarter of base period wages of at least $3,200 and total base period wages of at least 1.5 times the highest quarter earnings ($4,800), and total base period earnings of at least $6,400.' ELIGIBILITY - NONMONETARY: 'Worked for a subject employer and unemployed through no fault.' The Quick Reference lists the reasons for denial as 'Quit without good cause; fired for misconduct; refusal of suitable work; labor dispute (except lock-out); insufficient earnings in base period.' There is no waiting period as of 7/1/12, but you must have been unemployed for at least 7 days. Because these thresholds are stated as multiples of the Rhode Island minimum wage (R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-11(b)(1)), they move whenever the minimum wage does.
- Minimum base-period wages
- $6,400
- Minimum high-quarter wages
- $3,200
Meeting the wage test is not the same as being approved: Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) also rules on the reason for the separation and on your availability for work each week. File with Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) ↗
Base period in Rhode Island
DLT 2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference: 'The first four of the last five completed calendar quarters prior to claim; or last 4 completed quarters if needed to meet minimum earnings requirement'. An alternate base period is available if you don’t qualify with the standard window. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-42-3(3) defines the base period as 'the first four (4), of the most recently completed five (5) calendar quarters' and requires a re-determination on the alternate base period - the four most recently completed quarters - for a claimant who is monetarily ineligible on the standard period.
See which quarters count for your filing date →Severance and your claim
R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-59 allocates dismissal or severance pay to the weeks following the last day of work 'for a period not to exceed twenty-six (26) weeks, and the individual will not be entitled to receive benefits for any such week.' In practice that delays payable weeks rather than reducing the weekly rate: report any severance when you file and DLT will allocate it.
Source: R.I. Department of Labor and Training, Labor Market Information Division - '2026 UI and TDI Quick Reference (Effective July 1, 2026)' + DLT press release 'Maximum Weekly Benefit Amounts for Unemployment and Temporary Disability Insurance to Increase in July' (June 22, 2026) + R.I. Gen. Laws 28-44-6, 28-44-7, 28-44-9, 28-44-11, 28-44-59, 28-42-3(3) (verified 2026-08-01).
Rhode Island unemployment: frequently asked questions
Rhode Island pays between $82 and $777 per week in 2026 (up to $971 with a dependents allowance). Your amount is 3.85% of the average of your two highest-earning quarters, and only Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training (DLT) can determine it officially. These figures were verified against the agency's own publication on 2026-08-01.
More unemployment tools
Rhode Island benefit-change alerts + the free Layoff Money Kit
One email when the numbers change. Double opt-in, no spam, unsubscribe anytime.