Nebraska Unemployment Calculator: Up to $582/Week, 26 Weeks

Use the 2026 earnings threshold

The Nebraska Department of Labor's handbook, updated August 2026, requires at least $5,440 in covered base-period wages. At least $1,850 must have been paid in one quarter and at least $800 in a different quarter. All three conditions must be met.

Section 48-627.01 indexes the total-wage requirement annually. Its original dollar figure and an older agency page showing $5,297 for 2025 are not the 2026 threshold. The fixed quarterly amounts remain $1,850 and $800 under the statute.

Quarters of $1,850, $1,800, $1,790 and zero total exactly $5,440 and meet the quarterly tests. Reducing the third quarter by one cent makes the record fail the current total-wage requirement. Conversely, $6,000 in one quarter with zero in the other quarters clears the total threshold but fails the separate-quarter condition.

Use insured wages actually accepted for the base period. The standard base period is the four completed quarters that precede the most recent one; Nebraska also provides an alternate base-period review when the standard period does not establish monetary eligibility. A blank quarter stays unknown, while a confirmed zero should be entered as zero.

The weekly rate rounds down to an even dollar

Under section 48-624, divide the highest quarter by 13 to find the average weekly wage, take half, and round down to an even whole-dollar amount. This is equivalent to dividing that quarter by 26 and rounding down to the next multiple of two. The 2026 agency maximum is $582.

A $5,000 high quarter gives $192. A $4,991.99 quarter gives $190, while $4,992 reaches $192. Ordinary whole-dollar rounding would produce incorrect results near these boundaries.

The $1,850 qualifying high quarter produces a $70 rate after even-dollar rounding. That result comes from the formula and the wage threshold; the calculator does not impose an independent $70 minimum. A high quarter of $15,132 reaches $582, and one cent less rounds to $580.

It does not reuse the current threshold or maximum for a later year.

Twenty-six weeks is a ceiling, while wages limit the account

Section 48-626 limits the ordinary unreduced account to the smaller of 26 weekly amounts or one-third of covered base-period wages. An eligible record can therefore have a balance that runs out before 26 full-rate weeks.

For a $5,000 high quarter and $1,000 in another quarter, the weekly rate is $192. Total wages of $6,000 limit the balance to $2,000, below the $4,992 twenty-six-week ceiling. Ten full-rate weeks model $1,920; the mathematical balance remaining is $80.

With four $5,000 quarters, the same $192 weekly rate instead produces the $4,992 maximum account because the one-third-wage limit is larger. Changing wages in the lower quarters can increase the account without changing weekly pay.

The worksheet displays the mathematical balance ceiling to cents, rounding that display downward. The reviewed sources do not resolve every operational detail of final balance and remaining-payment rounding. Your monetary determination controls those amounts; a displayed ceiling is not a prediction of the exact final deposit.

Separation from the most recent insured employer can produce statutory balance reductions for a voluntary quit without good cause or misconduct. The model assumes an ordinary claim without those reductions. It also excludes partial-week earnings, pensions, vacation pay, severance, child support, debts, the waiting week, extensions and training benefits.

Check subsequent-claim and wage-record issues with NDOL

Section 48-627.01 also restricts reuse of wages from quarters already used to establish a valid claim and includes a six-times-prior-weekly-rate earnings requirement for a subsequent benefit year. Those checks require prior claim records and are not inferred from four current wage totals.

Compare the worksheet with your NEworks monetary notice before planning around a payment. If an employer or quarter is missing, follow the notice's correction or appeal instructions. The agency-award worksheet can budget from the approved weekly amount, balance and duration.

Optional withholding uses only the percentage you enter. At the $192 rate, a 10% selection leaves $172.80 before any other adjustments. This does not calculate your final tax liability or determine whether a claim is approved.

Nebraska sources and verification

• NDOL claimant handbook, updated August 2026: $5,440 earnings requirement and $582 cap
• NDOL calculation guide: even-dollar weekly rounding and account limits
• Nebraska Revised Statute 48-624: weekly rate formula
• Section 48-626: ordinary balance and separation reductions
• Section 48-627.01: indexed earnings, quarter tests and subsequent claims

Verified October 1, 2026. See source coverage and methodology.

Supported claim periods and annual handoff

The Nebraska wage-estimate calendar supports 2026-01-01 to 2026-12-31. Source dates describe when evidence was checked; they do not create a legal expiration. A blank claim date uses the current local date. After a finite schedule ends, the form shows an explicit official-award worksheet. Enter the weekly award, maximum account and authorized weeks from the determination. An unverified successor rate is never copied from the previous annual table.