New Jersey offers partial unemployment to its claimants to include those who experience partial loss of work in its unemployment insurance plan.

Before you can receive partial unemployment, you must first receive approval from the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development by applying. Then you must report your week’s wages to the department during your continued claims process. Once you report those wages, the state can calculate your partial payments based on the state’s earned income allowance and the money you earned.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) update:

If COVID-19 has affected your job, you may be eligible for unemployment benefits. Head to the Department of Labor's website for updates, and check out careeronestop to learn how to file for unemployment in your state.

Partial Unemployment Purpose

The partial unemployment regulations of New Jersey unemployment compensation laws aim to extend protection to those who may not have no work at all, but still experience a loss of work. It’s designed for those who might lose a full-time job but can find only a part-time job to replace it. It also covers you if your employer reduces your hours or pay significantly.

Requirements for Partial Unemployment

You must meet the requirements to collect partial unemployment. First, you must work less than 80 percent of the full-time hours for that occupation. This varies by claim, so the Department of Labor and Workforce Development may contact your current employer for more information when you first file for benefits. To collect partial unemployment, you also must earn less than your weekly benefit amount plus 20 percent. The department calculates your eligible weekly benefit amount at the start of your claim and then uses the wages you report during your continued claims to determine whether you qualify from week to week.

Reporting Your Wages

You must report an income to the department the entire time you collect unemployment benefits. If you’re working part time, you do this for each benefit week during your continued claims process. You either log in to the website or call the claims line to verify your eligibility for that week. When you get to the questions about whether you worked for the week and how much you earned for the week, answer as truthfully as possible. Remember to report your gross wages not on the week you receive the payment but the week you earned the money.

Calculating Partial Benefits

Your partial payments vary depending on the amount you earn each week. After you’ve reported your wages for a week in question, the Department of Labor and Workforce Development applies its partial benefits rules to your claim. New Jersey has an earned income allowance of 20 percent of your weekly benefit amount. You can earn that much without affecting your payments. Everything you earn above that 20 percent, the state deducts from your eligible weekly benefit amount. You receive the rest as your partial payment for the week.