Michiganders who receive unemployment benefits might expect to see more funds rolling into their bank accounts next week. A law passed last year will amend the Michigan Employment Security Act on Wednesday. It increases the number of weeks claimants are eligible to receive pay and the maximum benefit amount they can receive.
The law changes current unemployment benefits in Michigan in a few ways. It increases the amount of time Michiganders can qualify for unemployment benefits. Current Michigan law allows people to qualify for benefits for 14 to 20 weeks. The new law will increase the maximum number of weeks to 26.
Jason Palmer, director of Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency, said only about a third of Michiganders who claim and receive unemployment benefits utilize that funding until the last week they’re able to.
“While the benefit is critical to people who have lost a job through no fault of their own and continue to look for work, the extension in weeks is going to make a big difference for the people who need it, but right now only 33% of claimants are exhausting their benefits,” Palmer told Michigan Public.
The new law will also change the maximum amount of compensation eligible Michiganders receive each week. The maximum amount unemployed Michiganders can receive per week is currently $362. Beginning January 1, 2025, the maximum amount increases by $84 to total $446. Incremental changes will take place over the next week years.
Claims filed in 2026 allow for a maximum of $530 to go to each claimant every week. In 2027, that maximum weekly amount is $614. After that year, the State Treasurer is expected to adjust the maximum monetary amount each claimant can receive weekly based on changes to the consumer price index, according to the new law.
Michiganders who file for unemployment benefits receive additional compensation based on the number of dependents they have. Current state law adds $6 to a person's unemployment benefit rate each week for every dependent.
That also changes with the new legislation.
Beginning on January 1, 2025, an individual’s benefit rate will increase to $12.66 for each dependent every week, according to the new law. The additional amount added per dependent each week will increase incrementally over the next three years to eventually be $26 per dependent. Starting in 2028, the State Treasurer will adjust that additional payment based on the annual changes in the consumer price index.
While the law changes unemployment benefit rates starting on January 1, 2025, the change does not take effect until April 2. Palmer said that means the Unemployment Insurance Agency will be reassessing all claims filed between the beginning of the year and Wednesday. Those who should have received more money under the new law should expect more funding sent their way.
“We estimate about 70,000 claimants had filed claims during this quarter, and each of those will be reassessed. We anticipate that about 84% of them are going to be paid [more] money based on the adjusted rate,” Palmer said. “About 14% will not be affected at all, and about two percent will be determined to actually have received more than they would have had this law been in effect.”
Palmer said those who were found to have been overpaid during that period should not expect any changes, as the agency is waiving those overpayments.
The legislation is expected to have a significant negative fiscal impact on the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which pays out unemployment insurance claims, according to an analysis done by the Senate Fiscal Agency. The analysis also found that expanding the number of allowable weeks from 20 to 26 will increase the cost of unemployment payouts by $76.3 to $104.5 million.
Unemployment insurance taxes fund the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. While the payouts to unemployed Michiganders increase, Palmer said he does not expect large changes in taxes on businesses to compensate for higher payouts.
“This change in law will result in some small degree of increase in taxes to our businesses, and that will put some additional money into the trust fund,” Palmer said.
Michigan’s unemployment rate has increased over the past year, up 1.4% from February 2024 to February 2025. Michigan’s rate is 1.3% higher than the national employment rate.
“The state’s unemployment rate has gone up slightly in the first two months of the year, mainly due to a rise in the number of unemployed people,” Wayne Rourke, labor market information director for Michigan’s Center for Data and Analytics, wrote in a press release. “The size of the state’s labor force and number of payroll jobs have also increased in both January and February.”
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that an individual's benefit rate will increase by $12.66 for each dependent in 2025. It has been updated to reflect that an individual's benefit rate will increase to $12.66 for each dependent in 2025.
