Can you initiate an unemployment claim if you quit your job to start a family?

by Kim
(Milwaukee, WI)

My husband and I decided collectively that to avoid childcare costs I would stay home to raise our first child six years ago. Three years after she was born we had our second child. Our youngest is now three and, due to the current economic situation, I need to look for work.

Is it possible to qualify for unemployment benefits seeing that I've been out of work already for the past six years but am actively looking? I'm thinking I don't qualify but my husband seems to think I may. Please help.


Hi Kim,

You're right. You can't qualify for unemployment in Wisconsin.

Unemployment is an employer funded program. Wisconsin or any state for that matter, looks to the wages you've earned in the last four completed quarters. The minimum wages needed in that period is at least $1325 in your high quarter earnings and at least $1590 in the base period.

Since you haven't worked for six years, you do not have wages to qualify and in addition to that if you were quitting a job to start a family you wouldn't qualify for unemployment because the reason is not considered good cause to quit and collect benefits.

Chris