<P> JSA for a single person is changed annually, and at August 3, 2012 the maximum payable was £ 71.00 per week for a person aged over 25 and £ 56.25 per week for a person aged 18--24 . The rules for couples where both are unemployed are more complex, but a maximum of £ 112.55 per week is payable, dependent on age and other factors . Income - based JSA is reduced for people with savings of over £ 6,000, by a reduction of £ 1 per week per £ 250 of savings, up to £ 16,000 . People with savings of over £ 16,000 are not able to get IB - JSA at all . The British system provides rent payments as part of a separate scheme called Housing Benefit . </P> <P> Unemployment benefit is commonly referred to as "the dole"; to receive the benefit is to be "on the dole". "Dole" here is an archaic expression meaning "one's allotted portion", from the synonymous Old English word dāl . </P> <P> In the United States, there are 50 state unemployment insurance programs plus one each in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and United States Virgin Islands . Though policies vary by state, unemployment benefits generally pay eligible workers as high as $783.00 per week in the Massachusetts to a low as $235 per week maximum in Mississippi . Benefits are generally paid by state governments, funded in large part by state and federal payroll taxes levied against employers, to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own . Eligibility requirements for unemployment insurance vary by state, but generally speaking, employees not fired for misconduct ("terminated for cause") are eligible for unemployment benefits, while those fired for misconduct (this sometimes can include misconduct committed outside the workplace, such as a problematic social media post or committing a crime) are not . In every state, employees who quit their job without "good cause" are not eligible for unemployment benefits, but the definition of good cause varies by state . In some states, being fired for misconduct permanently bars the employee from receiving unemployment benefits, while in others it only disqualifies the employee for a short period . This compensation is classified as a type of social welfare benefit . According to the Internal Revenue Code, these types of benefits are to be included in a taxpayer's gross income . </P> <P> The standard time - length of unemployment compensation is six months, although extensions are possible during economic downturns . During the Great Recession, unemployment benefits were extended to 73 weeks . </P>

Where does the money come from for unemployment benefits