With the recent downturn in the economy and the loss of jobs, people are turning to unemployment insurance to make a living. Unemployment insurance is provided through each state, and it is a fund that you as the employee actually pay into. The company you are working for will send in money to the state for unemployment. This money aids in the unemployment fund for the state, allowing you to draw unemployment insurance. The length of time you receive unemployment insurance depends on the state you live in as well. Unemployment insurance is a safety net for those who are working and lose their job through no fault of their own. The longer you work at a job before you are laid off or the business closes, the more money you will make each week on unemployment. When you lose your job you can go to your local unemployment office to file for unemployment insurance. The only way you will be able to draw is if you were not At Fault for losing your job. Once all the paperwork has been filed and the unemployment has been approved, you will need to file each week in order to receive payment. You can file each week that you are unemployed by calling the state phone number or logging in on the internet. You will receive a debit card that your weekly payments will be posted on each week. Every state lets people draw on unemployment for different lengths of time. The basic unemployment lasts for 20 weeks. After this initial 20 weeks is up, you will be routed to tiers of unemployment. The tiers are dependent on the unemployment rate for each state. If the state unemployment rate is at a percentage that is greater than that of the country, you will most likely be able to draw on all four tiers of unemployment. You will receive the same weekly amount when you switch to the tiers, but the weeks will decrease with each tier. You will need to keep filing each week after you have been transitioned to the tiers of unemployment. More information can be found about unemployment at your local unemployment office.