In the United States of America, each state pays a certain amount on a monthly or weekly basis to the unemployed to take care of their needs till they find a job. This is called unemployment benefits. It is essential for the person to be registered with the state as being unemployed. To get PA unemployment benefits (or for any other state in the USA), it is essential to file a claim with the PA Unemployment Office.

Once an application is filled out, the agency determines the eligibility of the candidate with three simple steps - checking financial eligibility, checking benefit eligibility, and maintenance of the eligibility and requalification. The first step is the checking of the financial eligibility of the person to receive such benefits. Certain demarcations and laws have been drawn up for the same and this eligibility is calculated on that basis. The benefit eligibility refers to checking the reason for the loss of the job. This too has to fit the criteria to be eligible for the amount. The Pennsylvania UC laws and regulations provide a list and details of these. The final step is to check the status of the person from time to time. It is essential that the person is in a position to accept jobs and also that he does not turn down jobs for the purpose of getting the benefit. The PA unemployment eligibility requirements details are available at the PA unemployment website owned by the state. Once these steps are completed (the third step repeats on a weekly basis), the state passes the individual as eligible for the benefit.

An unemployed person can look for employment in various ways. One way is to register in well-know sites like www.pacareerlink.state.pa.us. This site enables people to create a resume, search for jobs, learn new skills suitable to get jobs, and so on.

At pacareerlink.state.pa.us there is also facility for employers to post job offers and search through the resume data bank of unemployed people to find the correct person for the job. It also has a portal for service providers like trainers, psychologist, childcare, and so on. A person can register to the website and get updates on available jobs as per the qualification of the person and certain criteria that may have been chosen by the person. Then there is the PA unemployment insurance for the benefit of the unemployed. The state also has the PA unemployment extension 2010 which aims at providing additional payment if the unemployment levels in the state rises beyond a stipulated level after three weeks of payment of the benefit. The state's website provides valuable guidance to the unemployed regarding the matter and enables them to submit claims online if required. Other than the state website, there are other websites as well that provide valuable information regarding claiming benefits to people.

With the state-provided benefits for the unemployed, there is good protection for them at the time of stress. The amount of benefit each person may receive is different depending on the situations. But, whatever the amount, it is a major help in hard times.